Cracks in Bageshwar: Uttarakhand's Mining Crisis

A committee has been formed to investigate cracks in Bageshwar's villages, blamed on illegal soapstone mining. The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered inspections of mines, with a report due in two weeks. Locals allege mining has harmed land and infrastructure, prompting migration and economic distress.

A committee, under the directive of the Uttarakhand High Court, has been initiated to probe the developing cracks in Bageshwar district villages, suspected to be consequences of illegal soapstone mining.

Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Subhash Upadhyay have mandated comprehensive inspections of all local mines, with the committee slated to deliver a report within two weeks. This move comes in response to multiple suo motu public interest litigations regarding structural damage in Kanda tehsil and additional petitions concerning 165 mining operations.

Comprising experts such as environmentalist Dr. Ajay Rawat and scientists from NEERI and WIHG, the committee represents a concerted effort to address local grievances. Residents ascribe worsening land subsidence to extensive mining activities and negligent excavation practices. The socio-economic impact has prompted many to migrate, leaving primarily the underprivileged behind. Despite frequent appeals, villagers accuse an entrenched 'mining mafia' of threatening their livelihoods.