| Sand mafia rules Jhelum, threat to Raj Bagh residents | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Aug 6: The illegal sand extraction in the river Jhelum near Aramwari, Raj Bagh is posing severe threat to the residents.
As per the residents, the "sand mafia," has been taking full advantage of non-serious attitude of Irrigation and Flood Control Department.
"Sand mafia has been putting at risk, the lives of thousands of residents. For extracting sand, they have breached the river. Number of tippers can be seen, lifting the sand," a local resident Ashraf Ahmad said.
"The movement of tippers shakes our houses, which were badly damaged because of the September 2014 floods," he said. The residents said that sand extraction has been weakening the embankments of the river.
"They just place the silt along the embankments, which weakens the embankments. The weakening of embankments and breaching can prove fatal," said another resident Imran Ahmad.
Referring to the September 2014 floods, the residents said that there is every chance that the water may enter into their locality, in case of floods.
"We suffered a lot because of September 2014 floods. We want to ensure our safety. We can go to any extent for that," they said. Similar complaints are coming from several areas where people living on Jehlum banks said that sand mafia has made their lives into hell.
The residents said that they brought the issue into the notice of the concerned authorities several times but despite assurances, nothing happened.
"If sand extraction continues, we would come on to the streets to lodge our protest," they added.
"We should not be forced to come on to the streets. We appeal the authorities to take immediate action against the sand mafia," said an elderly resident Ghulam Ahmad.
A senior official said that he would look into the matter."I am not aware of the issue. We had allotted the work to a particular company to clear the shore. The work has been completed," he said.
Another official said that "sand mafia" stopped dredging work several times in the past. "They even did not allow us to cut the rump. No objection was raised by the locals to cut the rump," he added. |
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