With a blast, fear of illegal mining in Aravalli returns

residents of Pichopa Kalan village in Haryana's Charkhi Dadri district were jolted by the sound of an explosion that reduced a significant portion of a hillock to rubble.

- Leena Dhankar

GURUGRAM/NUH: Late Wednesday evening, The blast was allegedly orchestrated by a mining cartel operating with tacit support from state authorities, marking yet another alarming instance of illegal mining in the region.

Activists and locals say this is only the latest episode in a troubling pattern stretching across Haryana, from Mewat (Nuh) to Bhiwani's Dadam hills and the Haryana-Rajasthan border. They accuse authorities of turning a blind eye to violations, emboldened by political patronage and inaction.

Despite a Supreme Court ban on mining in the ecologically critical Aravalli range, such activities persist unabated, leaving behind a trail of environmental devastation and human tragedy. On January 1, Subhash Singh, a Pichopa Kalan resident, was severely injured in a rockfall caused by illegal quarrying, underscoring the dangers of unchecked mining in the area.

"They eat away entire hillocks and commit brazen dacoity of the state's mineral resources," said Mukesh Sangwan, a local resident visibly upset by the scale of destruction. "This is an ecological disaster in the making, and no one in power seems to care."