Help stop the destruction of the hills of Braj

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Letter PAMHO:11528201 (146 lines)

Internet: "Ambariisa Das" <Ambarisa (AT) mayapurfoundation (DOT) org>

05-May-06 01:25 (18:25 -0700)

Bhaktivedanta Manor [36358]

Help stop the destruction of the hills of Braj

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Dear Maharajs and prabhus,

 

Please accept my most humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

I believe that many of you are already aware of the critical threat to the

environment of Braj Dham by illegal mining close to Barsana. In a nutshell,

here is the problem:

 

In the last 10 years, illegal mining of the hilly terrain in the Braj region

has grown nearly 25 times. The focus of this activity is in the sacred

groves of Kamavan where Brutal Destruction of Braj Hills Sri Krishna had

many pastimes with his cowherd boyfriends. In addition to the brutal

destruction of these sacred hills, the extensive use of dynamite has

damaged some prominent sites of Krishna's pastimes, like Phisalini Shila a

natural rock formation over which Krishna used to slide with his friends.

 

Inspired by the dedicated resistance that has grown up amongst the local

Brijbasi community, I joined with other devotees to fund a Public Interest

Litigation suit in the Supreme Court of India. The suit was successful and

the Supreme Court ordered a complete ban last January. I also joined in

forming the

Braj Foundation to stimulate regeneration of the environment of Braj.

 

However, despite the ruling of the Supreme Court, backed up by several

other Central government rulings and a ruling from the Rajasthan High Court,

the Rajasthan government has been dragging its feet on stopping this illegal

activity under the apparent sway of the mining "mafia."

 

This collusion of unscrupulous businessmen has gone so far as to threaten

the lives of senior activists and has succeeded in orchestrating the murder

of one of the dedicated volunteers.

 

To try to bring more pressure on the government, the local Brijbasis have

mounted a demonstration, conducting continuous Harinam at the Jantar Mandir

in Delhi since April 22nd and will submit their petition to the Prime

Minister on May 11.

 

I'm writing to ask you to support this effort with your own petition, signed

by members of your congregations, and faxed to the Prime Minister care of

the Indian Embassy of your country. A draft of this petition is attached and

is also available to download at [insert URL].

 

If at all possible, I ask that you announce this at your upcoming Sunday

program so that as many as possible of your congregation can join in this

petition.

 

The completed petitions should be faxed to your local embassy and the

original copy sent by mail.. You can find the fax number and postal

addresses

of the Indian embassies at this website::

http://www.sarkaritel.com/indianmissionspost

(http://www.sarkaritel.com/indianmissionspost).

 

Please also email a copy to the Braj Rakshak Dal office which is organizing

the

protest - brajrakshakdal (brajrakshakdal )

 

I also ask you to join the online version of this petition at

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/braj/petition.html

(http://www.petitiononline.com/braj/petition.html). Please announce this to

your congregation as well so they can join online and forward it to their

friends and associates, helping create a wider awareness about this

important

issue.

 

The success of this effort will strengthen the foundations for increased

action to stem the rapid environmental degradation of the entire Braj

region. Your support today could mean the difference for our children

tomorrow - a renewed Braj filled with sacred groves, forested hills and

beautiful kunds, instead of a devastated and barren land.

 

I thank you for your support.

 

Your servant,

Ambarisa das

Trustee

Braj Foundation

www.brajfoundation.org (http://www.brajfoundation.org/)

 

 

Petition

 

 

To:

 

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Honorable Prime Minister of India

New Delhi

 

Through Indian Embassy

 

Sir,

 

We the undersigned, as members of the global community who revere and

appreciate Braj culture and heritage, are outraged over the brutal

destruction

of the heritage hills of Braj which lie in the Deeg & Kaman tehsils of

Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.

 

These hills lie in close vicinity to the Keoladeo National Park at

Bharatpur,

Sariska Tiger Reserve at Alwar and the Taj Mahal at Agra and play a

considerable role in maintaining the ecological balance of the region.

 

These hills have numerous footmarks, caves, rocks and other heritage sites

all

associated with the innumerable pastimes of Lord Krishna. Millions of

pilgrims

and tourists from all over the world come to visit these sites.

 

We have come to know that this destructive mining is illegal, violating the

guidelines of the Honorable Supreme Court of India and ignoring the stern

directions of the Central Pollution Control Board to stop all sorts of

mining

activities in the region with immediate effect.

 

As per the satellite studies conducted by Braj Rakshak Dal

(www.brajrakshakdal.org) -- the activist group fighting for the protection

and

overall resurrection of Braj, the quantum of mining operations has increased

to

the tune of 28 times in the last few years. At this rate, the hills of Braj

would be wiped out in a mere span of 5-10 years.

 

It is unfortunate that the Government of Rajasthan is allowing this plunder

of

the word's heritage despite the fact that these hills are central to the

ecology of Braj and have prevented the desertification of the region.

 

We have learnt that the local people of the region are sitting on an

agitation

to draw the attention of the Government of India on this issue, at the

Jantar

Mantar of New Delhi since April 22nd.

 

We express our solidarity with them and earnestly request you to take

appropriate measures to stop all kinds of mining activities in the entire

Braj

region.

 

We also request you to take an initiative towards conserving the pristine

glory

and grandeur of Braj which lies in close vicinity of Taj Mahal, by

facilitating

the restoration of its hundreds of Kunds, revival of its dozens of

transcendental groves and the regeneration of the barren hill slopes.

 

With best regards

 

Sincerely

Signatories to the petition

 

[use more pages as necessary]

 

 

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