Karoonjhar Mountain mining ad withdrawn

The Sindh government on Monday surrendered before the public backlash against the plan to auction granite mining lease in the Karoonjhar Mountains of Tharparkar district.

The Sindh Mines and Mineral Development Department (MMDD) director general on Monday issued a public notice, cancelling the auction. "Reference to the advertisement published in various leading newspapers on July 22 and 23, regarding open auction of mining lease of granite in Nanagarparkar … the same has been cancelled forthwith," reads the notice.

The department also sent a letter to Sindh information department to publish ads in this regard. The plan to auction the mountain - revered as the home to wildlife, cultural, heritage and religious sites in addition to being a tourist attraction and a source of livelihood for farmers and livestock breeders - drew stiff condemnation from the people belonging to all walks of life.

The nationalist parties announced protests against what they described as sell out of the mountain. As the outpouring of public sentiment against the planned auction continued, Tharparkar Deputy Commissioner Lal Dino Mangi also echoed concerns against it through a letter addressed to the MMDD.

"If the department allowed mining of historical and restricted [protected] sites to excavate granite, it will be considered [an attempt] to smash the history," he warned.

He reminded the department that the district and session court Tharparkar had also passed an order for protection of Karoonjhar on May 4. According to the DC, the department planned to handover around 5,000 acres of land for mining of granite.

He recalled that earlier the department had advertised auction of a part of mountain for mining of clay but the district administration not only protested but submitted its disapproval in writing to the department.

Separately, a resident of Tharparkar, Advocate Shankar Lal Meghwar, on Monday filed a petition in Sindh High Court Hyderabad circuit bench, praying the court to stop the auction. He said historic Hindu temples visited by the people of his faith from across Pakistan and India were also located in Karoonjhar.

He maintained the mountain is also strategically important for the country's defence as it is located close to Indian border. He also underlined other attributes of the mountain to corroborate his assertion in favour of protecting the mountain.

Meghwar recalled that on January 7, 2021, the SHC ordered that a committee should decide the heritage and cultural status of Karoonjhar. However, he deplored, that committee is yet to come up with its findings