Mining equipment worth crores burnt

Tag : and mining equipment
The situation was turned ugly and mining machinery includingcrushers scanning equipment were set on fire by miscreants.Labourers fled fearing the scene. The loss is estimated at Rs 20crore.

The police were unsuccessful in controlling the crowd. DySP DrHarsha assured the protesters that the taluk and districtadministration would attend to their demands, but added that theyhad no right to stop the mining activities of companies permittedby the Government. He also warned that those found guilty of havingtaken the law into their hands would be punished.

However, B S Shivaprakash and H M Surendraiaha who led the protestsaid that the private companies who began mining in the region fiveyears ago had assured that they would adopt the nearby villages forinfrastructure development activities and create jobs for thepeople.

“But they have done nothing about it so far. Their illegalmining has also ruined the eco-system in the region adverselyeffecting the human and animal life,” they said.

They also charged that the district administration had assured thatby August 2, they would find a solution to the villagers’demands and instead, had restarted mining in the area.

They, however, denied that the protesting farmers had set themining equipment on fire and added that all the protests by them inthe last five years have been peaceful.