MITHI: The Karoonjhar Sujag Forum has urged Sindh government to save Karoonjhar hills from stone thieves and warned it will resume agitation against unabated extraction of granite if the illegal practice is not stopped immediately.

The forum leaders Allah Rakhio Khoso, Zulfikar Ali Khoso, Ramesh Karoonjhari and others told local journalists on Friday that contractors were once again busy digging out granite and gravel from the beds of rivulets and foothills to use it as construction material in the building of small dams near Nagarparkar town.

They said the illegal practice had been resumed by greedy contractors a few days ago despite a complete ban on extraction of stones in the hilly region by Sindh High Court’s Hyderabad circuit bench. The court had passed orders on a petition filed by advocate Ghulam Mustafa Hingorjo, against the illegal practice in 2019, they said.

They said the precious stones were being used in the construction of small dams in Onhar village to irrigate farmland of a local PPP lawmaker. When they approached the area police and asked them to take action they did nothing and feigned ignorance of the illegal practice going on under their very noses, they said.

They said that the extraction of stones was not only contempt of court but was also an ugly practice that had marred natural beauty of the region.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2020