All quarrying banned, now Haridwar is a ‘no-mining’ zone

DEHRADUN: All quarrying has come to a halt in Haridwar district following a directive by chief minister Harish Rawat to officials and the district magistrate. The ban on quarrying came into effect two days after Haridwar-based Matrisadan founder Swami Shivanand resumed his indefinite fast to protest against authorities’ inability to make Haridwar district a ‘no-mining’ zone.
A senior IAS officer, however, denied that state government had banned quarrying in Haridwar district due to pressure from different quarters after Shivanand resumed his indefinite fast to press for a complete ban on illegal mining in the region, terming it as his personal decison.
When contacted, CM Rawat said he issued the directive to Chief Secretary to impose a ban on quarrying in Haridwar district after going through the findings of a three-member committee headed by the chief secretary N Ravi Shankar.When contacted at Haridwar, fasting seer Shivanand expressed his ignorance about the ban, saying he had not received any written information from government so far.