Jaisalmer: Hundreds of villagers, led by the gram panchayat, staged a large protest in Jaisalmer Friday to oppose a proposed cement factory and limestone mining project by Dalmiya Bharat Foundation in Ramgarh village. They submitted a memorandum to the additional district magistrate (ADM) demanding the immediate cancellation of the project.The villagers had assembled at Hanuman Chowraha, wearing black bands as a symbol of their resistance. In their memorandum, they described the project as a “model of destruction wearing the mask of development” and warned that the movement would intensify if their concerns were ignored. They also called for an independent investigation into the Environmental Impact Assessment and immediate revocation of the factory’s permission. They later also submitted their demands to Jaisalmer MLA Chhotusingh Bhati. The villagers said that the designated mining area includes their ancestral homes, grazing fields, shrines, and graves. They fear that the establishment of the factory would displace them and destroy their cultural sites. They said that the only remaining grazing area for livestock had also been sold to the company. They also raised serious environmental concerns, emphasizing that the cement factory would extract millions of litres of groundwater, threatening the already scarce water resources in the region. The villagers warned that this would deplete wells, tube wells, traditional water sources, and damage the khadin system crucial for agriculture, making survival difficult for them. The villagers insisted that their livelihoods and identity are at stake and that development should not come at the cost of their existence. Along with this, the villagers also highlighted the health risks posed by cement dust and limestone mining. They warned that pollution from the project would make fertile land barren and cause diseases such as silicosis, asthma, and cancer. A villager questioned, “Should we push our children to death’s door right from birth?” Gram Panchayat administrator, Pushpa Bhargav, noted that during a public hearing in Dec, villagers had unanimously opposed the project, but the auction process continued regardless of it. Villagers alleged that the project is being pushed through manipulated documentation without genuine consent from the gram sabha.The villagers vowed to escalate their protest to the state level if their demands are not met.
