(IN): Kalesar forest under miners' attack

[Guest guest]

Link: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070018119

 

Kalesar forest under miners' attack

 

Sidharth Pandey

Sunday, July 8, 2007 (Kalesar Forest, Haryana)

The Kalaser National forest, spread across 11,000 acres near Yamuna

Nagar in Haryana, is home to a variety of plants and animals,

including leopards and panthers.

 

Situated on the foothills of the Dauladar range, the forest including

the Yamuna river which passes through it were designated as part of a

national park in December 2003.

 

The move should have given the local administration and the Centre

great powers to protect it but that has not been the case.

 

For over the past two years the forest has been under attack. Illegal

mining contractors looking for sand and stones used in construction

are its biggest enemies.

 

Work begins at night as a convoy of trucks makes its way on the

riverbed and into the reserve forest. Soon the riverbed resembles a

highway as trucks head into and out of it.

 

Villagers who have protested in the past have been attacked-- clearly

much is at stake in keeping the operation going on.

 

Trail of evidence

 

As the NDTV team films from the cover of the forest, more than 50

trucks pass by, each laden with rocks and sand as work continues until

dawn.

 

The material ends up at a stone cruncher, next to the main highway,

which comes alive only at night when an army of workers rushes in to

process the sand and stone coming out of the riverbed.

 

The noise from the machines can be heard several miles away but has

failed to get the attention of the forest office situated on the

riverbank and near the whole operation.

 

As the day breaks, the team travels to the riverbed to see the damage

done. While the trucks and excavators disappear, they leave behind

evidence of an entire night's operation.

 

For the sake of profit

 

River bed mining is a huge and profitable business with heavy demand

for sand and stones used for construction in Delhi and other cities.

 

An operation, like this one, can fetch a couple of crores each month.

As no royalty or tax is paid to the government, most operations are

carried out by contractors who have ensured that the local

administration looks the other way.

 

But it is not just the forest and river that are facing a threat.

 

Balbir Singh whose family has been farming fields near the forest for

generations says that mining has led to flooding in the past few

years, in which several acres of farm land were lost.

 

Several villagers had written to the forest and mining department but

nothing happened. Instead they were threatened and attacked by the

miners.

 

''Several times our fields have been washed away and several machines

run at night and even day. Despite our land being close to the

National Park the mining goes on with help from forest officials,''

said Balbir Singh.

 

Ironically while everyone knows what is happening, the forest

department chooses to look the other way.

 

''Mining used to happen earlier, even in the river, but it has closed

down now,'' said Walia, Area Forest Range Officer.

 

When questioned about the huge pits seen at the site, Walia argued

that they have been there from before.

 

Despite all denials, the forest, its river and the people living

nearby silently bear witness to the plunder.