Shinwari
PESHAWAR
The provincial government and other relevant officials of the tribal district Bajaur have turned thier deaf ears toward enormous extraction and illegal business of mines and minerals, causing a huge loss to national kitty and natural resources of the province, according to sources.
It is to note that illegal extraction of mineral resources in the abovementioned district is taking place at a time when the provincial government and credible reports have maintained and emphasized that mines and minerals sustainable utilization can serve as pillars on which a strong economy can be built.
The sources said that illegal business of mines and minerals in different parts of Bajaur district is a business in which some government officials and influential local people are involved.
They claimed that “although the local people put efforts to draw attention of the government including district administration and secretary office of relevant departments in Peshawar, they still have to act. Amidst extraction and smuggling of KP precious mines and mineral resources going completely unnoticed.
It is pertinent to mention here that a number of inquiries against the illegal extraction of mines and minerals are underway under the supervision of the mines and mineral department. However, the illegal business of precious resources is still going on and people associated with its extraction and transportation are making huge amounts of money.
A well-placed source in the mines and mineral department told this scribe on the condition of anonymity that illegal extraction of mines and minerals and its transportation to other parts of the country is causing losses of millions of rupees to the provincial economy every year.
He said that civil society activists and local residents of newly merged districts have submitted hundreds of complaints against the mafia involved in the extraction, adding they have demanded the government to act against many illegal minerals extraction operations across the erstwhile Fata.
