Srinagar: Seeking the closure of cement factories operating in their area residents of Khrew and its adjoining areas in south Kashmirs Pulwama district have decided to go for a complete strike against what they call callousness and the inaction on part of the authorities.
We are now fed up with the inaction of the authorities who are not able to stop the unprecedented growth of cement factories that are operating without any pollution control devices, said Ghulam Rasool Mir, an inhabitant of Khrew.
Mir says that the emission of toxic gases from these cement plants have made their life hell. This is why we have decided to go for a complete strike on January 15.
It is not that the inhabitants of this area will register their protest against this menace (operation of cement factories) for the first time but they have been demanding and pursuing a government action against these cement-factories right from the day one.
We have been protesting against this menace for the last many years now. But I think our authorities have turned a blind eye towards our miseries. Or may be their hands have been tied by the cement factory owners by illegal gratifications, alleged Mohammad Maqbool a resident of Pakherbal Khrew while expressing his concern over the ecology in the area that has been damaged to alarming proportions.
The residents of Khrew informed CNS that a large population of the area is suffering from lethal diseases like bronchitis asthma and other ailments because of the toxic gases emanating from the cement factories. People are finding it difficult to get drinking water as all springs are drying up. Saffron cultivation which was considered to be backbone of economy of the area has declined to almost nothing, observed Abdul Rashid a government teacher working in the vicinity of these cement factories.
The people of the area are not only concerned about their own families but vehemently argue on the importance of a healthy food chain. Wildlife is becoming extinct under watchful eyes of concerned department. Illegal mining is being carried out by the factory owners in broad daylight and the authorities keep a mum. Green forests have been plundered and burnt with the purpose to use mountains as limestone queries, said a group of students who said that they have decided to make the strike on January 15 a success.
Farmers who mainly deal with saffron cultivation reported that approximately around 50,000 Kanals of agriculture and saffron land has been affected badly by the soot of these cement factories and has almost been rendered barren. Air pollution levels has reached such a level that Dachigam National Park is also getting affected, said Imtiaz Ahmad a student doing his Bachelors in science in Pulwama, adding that people in hamlets like Shar, Pakherbal, Nagander, Wahab Khar, Mandakpal, Wuyen and Ladoo have been badly affected by the presence of the cement factories operation with impunity.
The inhabitants of these area reiterated their demand that either these cement factories be closed or shifted to some other area where they can operate without affecting any human habitation. These factories have taken a heavy toll on our health, vegetation and saffron fields and now we are not ready to bear this brunt anymore, the residents who are organizing the protest and strike on January 15 informed CNS.
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