Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Jan 24: The irate residents of village Bhagtali situated on the bank of river Ravi today staged protest demonstration against the administration for allowing mining in Ravi river due to which the water level in the area has depleted.
The protest was led by Dwarika Nath and Saraswati Devi. The protestors raising slogans against the administration said that unabated mining in the river has led to the problem. The protestors said legal and illegal mining is taking place in the river and the environmentalists have also failed to take cognizance of the same with the result the people are facing acute scarcity of drinking water as entire area has turned dry.
The protestors said that earlier they were getting water for a tube well after digging the ground 10 feet down from ground level. Later it reached to 20 feet down and now even water is not available at 40 feet below the ground level.
This has led to the water scarcity in the entire village and forced the people to take to streets. The protestors warned to intensify agitation in case the administration fails to take immediate steps in settling the issue. The villagers have also sought the intervention of environmentalists towards their problem and urged them to save the area from water crisis.