Hajipur residents stage dharna against mining

Our Correspondent

Hajipur (Hoshiarpur), July 11

Residents of Hajipur and surrounding Kandi areas staged a dharna under the banner of the Mining Hatao-Zameen Bachao Sangharsh Committee protesting against the Hajipur police outside the police station here today.

The protesters were demanding immediate cancellation of alleged false FIRs against the committee members, release of committee leader Dharminder Singh and immediate stopping of mining being conducted in the Hajipur area by “illegal crushers”.

The protesters alleged that most of the crushers in the area were being run by industrialists from Moga and were set up in violation of the rules.

They alleged that the crushers did not have the permission to function, but they were still running uninterrupted. They alleged that no action was being taken against them under political pressure.

Leaders of the Sangharsh Committee said they had lodged several complaints regarding mining by crushers who had dug land up to 100 ft creating artificial gorges. On being asked to give a written complaint in this regard, they said they had filed 102 complaints between July 1 and August 15 but no action had been taken so far.

They alleged that in September 2015 a false case of assault was registered against the leaders of the committee just to pressurise them to stop the agitation but when they did not bow before the pressure, six months later on March 3, 2016, Section 326 of the IPC was added to the FIR.

Later, leader of the committee Dharminder Simbli was arrested in the said case and sent to jail within three hours.

Giving a three-day ultimatum to the administration, they warned that if the false case was not scrapped, Dhaminder was not released and mining not stopped, they would intensify the stir.