Demanding a rollback of the existing Geology and Mining policy in Jammu and Kashmir, CPI (M) Saturday said that if not rolled back it could snatch the livelihood of thousands of people across the region.
A statement of CPI (M) issued here quoted the CPI (M) Secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik as saying that from contractors to sand diggers, labourers and transporters who were directly or indirectly associated with the extraction of minerals, all were in danger of losing their livelihood.
“The business of quarry owners, crusher owners, tipper and tractor owners, hot-mix and wet-mix plant owners, masons and other concerned people has been jeopardized,” he said. “People associated with the trade had purchased load carriers, tippers and other vehicles by borrowing money from the banks. Now with the implementation of this new policy, they have been left jobless as they are not even able to pay monthly EMIs to the banks.”