Excelsior Correspondent
VIJAYPUR, Mar 3: Seeking a fair deal for the tractor and trolley operators who have been rendered jobless by the Government in view of restrictions imposed on lifting of sand and gravel from river beds, NPP chairman Harsh Dev Singh today urged upon the authorities to review its orders so as to save the poor tractor owners from starvation.
Addressing protest dharna of tractor-trolley operators at Vijaypur today, Singh said that while manual lifting of sand and gravel (Bajri) was permissible under the Mining Act, the Govt functionaries were exceeding their mandate by imposing a blanket ban on extortion of such materials. And while the poor tractor and trolley operators were restrained from lifting the said materials, the big contractors and influential land mafia was openly extracting minerals from river beds by using JCB machines, earth excavators and lifting and transporting such material by defying the law as well as the orders of the Government.
He charged the local administration and officials of Geology and Mining Department of conniving with big contractors while disallowing the poor tractor trolley owners of their legitimate claims.
Singh also submitted a memorandum to SDM Vijaypur in support of the demands of tractor union along with Yash Paul Kundal, State general secretary-JKNPP and Rajesh Padgotra, Provincial president (Jammu).
SDM assured to take up the matter with concerned authorities.
Singh also held public meetings at villages Chhowni and Keso in Vijaypur. Addressing these meetings, Harsh Dev sought adequate compensation for crops of farmers which were damaged in the devastating rains of October-November 2019. He regretted that the compensation of Rs 675 per Kanal announced by the Govt was grossly inadequate in view of two successive crops of farmers having been damaged due to vagaries of weather. He called for waiving off the loans of farmers who had been adversely affected by inclement weather and untimely rains.
Yash Paul Kundal lambasted the BJP leadership for hood-winking the people during the Assembly and Parliamentary in the name of 5 marla plots to border dweller in safer zones. He sought a special recruitment drive for the border dwellers in conformity with the repeated assurances of the BJP Govt.
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