Budgam, Feb 16 : The residents of Sogam , Madbal and adjoining villagers in central Kashmir’s Chadoora on Wednesday held a protest against some officials for allegedly facilitating environmental destruction by way of illegal stone mining in Doodh Ganga river .
The locals alleged that some officials of Irrigation and Flood Control , Geology and Mining and Revenue Department were facilitating illegal mining by allowing illegal works which have no mention in the DPR.
“Doodh Ganga has been turned into a mining bed from last several months as only one to two meters depth is allowed as per DPR but on the ground we saw the JCBs have excavated stones as deep as 20 meters which will deplete water flow in the river having direct impact on agriculture in almost 26 villages downstream,” said Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat social activist who was part of the protest demonstration. “There is destruction of Doodh Ganga by large-scale mining around Sogam Chadoora. The corruption done by government officials who help the contractors to violate DPR norms needs to be probe through Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB),” said Abdul Aziz a local resident of Sogam
Apni Party leader Master Mohammad Maqbool who also was present during the protest said that those officials who have allowed violation of DPR should be taken to task. He said people are not against development , but that should be done as per norms set under detailed project report (DRR).
