Residents of Dhanbad took out a 25-km foot march from Randhir Verma Chowk near the district headquarters to Jamadoba in Jharia against the rising pollution in the coal town on Saturday.
The protest march was organised under the banner of the social organisation Gramin Ekta Manch and witnessed slogans being shouted against the Jharkhand government and the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), the coal company operating in Dhanbad.
Talking to the media during the launch of the foot march Saturday morning, Ranjit Singh Bablu, one of the protesters and also the central president of Gramin Ekta Manch, said, “We are compelled to take out the foot march to draw the attention of concerned authorities towards the pitiable condition of pollution in Dhanbad. The city has been included by the central government under the National Clean Air Programme, where pollution is to be decreased by 30% by 2024.”
“We are not protesting just for photo ops. Instead, we are working on the ground on three fronts, including creating awareness among common people by carrying out plantations and encouraging others to carry out sapling plantations. We are also waging a legal battle by filing PILs in courts against the pollution-causing industries, and we are carrying out protest activities like the foot march today,” added Bablu.
Meanwhile, Jharia residents, under the banners of two different social organisations, Green Life and Youth Concept, are also gearing up for a foot march on Sunday against the glaring condition of pollution and acid rains in the area.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Jharia residents, under the banners of two different social organisations, Green Life and Youth Concept, are also gearing up for a foot march on Sunday against the glaring condition of pollution and acid rains in the area.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Akhlaque Ahmad, a Jharia-based speech therapist who is also the founder of Youth Concept, said, “The situation has drastically changed during the last decade in Jharia town, which has a population of more than five lakhs. We have never witnessed the thick layer of dust on our terrace, which has become a regular feature.”
“As all modes of protest have fallen on deaf ears, we are compelled to take out a foot march tomorrow, which will begin from the Taxi Stand in Jharia and, after moving all around the town, will finally return to the same venue,” said Ahmad, holding the increased number of open-cast mines and the increasing overburden dumps in towns responsible for the increased pollution in the town.
Responding to the protests, Harish Pal, deputy manager (environment) of BCCL, said, “We are taking all sorts of steps to increase the green cover in Dhanbad. We have carried out a plantation of huge areas, planting approximately 90 hectares of land so far this year. Plantation of overburden dumps is also in progress.”