Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 15: As the lockdown continues, illegal miners in Langate in North Kashmir are taking full advantage of it and are leaving no stone unturned in exploiting the resources.
Locals in the area said that dozens of JCBs and other heavy machinery have been employed by mining mafia to make the most of the lockdown.
They said that they are openly extracting sand and boulders at several places using JCBs and other machinery, while the district administration has not been doing anything to stop it.
The locals informed that the illegal extraction was on in Langate Nallah, Mawer Nallah and few more places.
The people are also alleging that the canal was narrowed by the mafias who in league with the administration and with the result, dozens of PHE schemes have been rendered useless.
They further said that they had brought the matter to the notice of the authorities several times, but no action was taken.
While deliberating more, the locals said that due to low water level in the said drain, the irrigation pump sheds have become useless, which in turn have rendered thousands of kanals of agricultural land useless due to non-availability of water.
The locals have appealed the authorities to note of the issue.
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