Jaipur | July 11, 2017: Every night a group of young villagers patrol along the banks of Berach river in Umand village in Kapasan near Chittorgarh to prevent mining of sand and gravel by a mining company which was given lease by the state.

In a rare display of courage for saving environment, the villagers are at wits end to stop indiscriminate mining of sand and gravel which has affected the fertility of the soil, productivity and made land vulnerable for landslides during monsoon.

From imposing a penalty of Rs 21,000 against villagers who work for the sand miners to filing a writ in the Rajasthan High Court seeking stay on the mining by collecting contributions from the every household, a committee 'Gaon Bachao' formed by the villagers is taking on the mining company on all fronts.

The mining company was given the lease from Akola to Surpur village along the bank of Berach river three years ago. The lease document says that digging the land for sand shouldn't be below 3 metre. However, the company's indiscriminate mining has left craters as deep as 12-15 metre deep.

The rule says that mining beyond 3 metre deep is termed as illegal mining which has a provision for harsh punishment. The sand and gravel have been used in construction of roads. The Berach soil is of high quality and required to meet the demand for undergoing projects around the city.

The unchecked mining has its repercussions on environment and ecology far greater and graver, explains, Om Prakash Mali, member of committee, said, "The miners have disrupted the life of our village and the local ecosystem. They have been lifting sand and gravel from area which is not under their jurisdiction. They have so close to our village affecting the soil cover, fertility, groundwater table along with habitat of microorganisms which add to the nutrient value of the soil.

"He also complaint that company has chopped off several trees and plants which has come in the way of mining.

The village has population of 2,500, mostly farmers who grow 2-3 crops in a year due to irrigation facilities. "My land is close to the place where they have mined a big area upto 15 metre leaving a crater. It has spoiled the fertility of my land and posing a danger for my cattle. I have reported the matter to local mines office but no respite is a reason that we have formed a committee to stop the ill practice," said Madhav Lal Gatri, a villager of Umand village.

The penalty has been imposed to discourage the locals who form a large chunk of workforce for the company.

Officials say that mining has been done to the greater extent that it is likely to change the course of a river. Satyanarayan Sharma, assistant mining engineering, Chittorgarh has admitted to have found large scale irregularities in the mining activities by the miner. "Acting on the complaint by Umand villager we have investigated the matter. A report has been submitted to the senior authorities with suggestive action against the mining agency,"said Sharma.

(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)