The news that administration has taken action against illegal mining of construction material from water bodies in one the districts of Kashmir valley raises some grave concerns. This surely must not be the first case of illegal sand extraction from water bodies. Neither is this the first action from a district management to crack whip on illegal activities. But what makes it particularly disturbing is the timing of it. At a time when the entire J&K, like the rest of the world, is fighting this dreaded pandemic, occurrence of such things betrays a sick mind. This time the entire government machinery is busy with ensuring the safety of the people by all means possible. The health care system is under tremendous strain and the government is trying to upgrade various facilities that are needed this time. Similarly, to ensure social distancing an elaborate arrangement is in place so that people don’t mix up. Not just this, the administration is also trying hard to ensure that food and other essential items are made available. When all this is being done, it is the duty of the people to cooperate with the administration, all in the interest of human life.
A time when systems and societies are under tremendous strain and one doesn’t know what is in store for humans, how could people resort to illegal activities. On the contrary, this was time to reflect on how we could serve people, and save environment. That is what makes such acts doubly wrong. Apart from this, there is another point that needs to be underlined here. While the administration is busy with meeting the challenges thrown by this pandemic, it should not lower its guard on other fronts. There can be some unscrupulous elements who can take advantage of this situation and resort to unlawful activities. Such people need a strict reminder that they cannot get away with such acts and activities. At the societal level, people also need to keep an eye on things, so that there is no damage done to society or to the environment all this while.