Jaipur: Congress workers and various social organisations held protests in different parts of Rajasthan Monday, demanding the protection of the Aravallis, a crucial mountain range in the state.
The demonstrations saw confrontation between protesters and police outside Udaipur Collectorate, where some agitators were detained.
Congress workers and members of different organisations gathered outside the collectorate, raised slogans and called for action to preserve the Aravallis. The protests escalated as workers engaged in a confrontation with the police.
Karni Sena and local community groups demanded the reversal of the Supreme Court’s order on the definition of the Aravalli Hills and Ranges. The groups warned of intensified protests if their demands were not met.
Peaceful protests were also held at Harsh Parvat in Sikar, where environmental activists demanded the conservation of the Aravallis.
If people are forcibly evicted from their homes, where will they go Humans can build shelters, but what about the wildlife questioned a protester.
NSUI workers took to the streets in Jodhpur, with some of them climbing barricades.
In Alwar, Leader of the Opposition Tikaram Jully said that the Aravallis are the lungs of Rajasthan.
He said that the Congress will escalate its protests across the state against the Union government’s report in the Supreme Court redefining the Aravalli mountain range.
The Supreme Court, November 20 accepted the recommendations of a committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on the definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges.
According to the new definition, Aravalli Hill is any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above its local relief and an Aravalli Range is a collection of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other.
This has sparked a major controversy as Congress leaders and experts are claiming that the new definition would destroy 90 per cent of the range due to lack of legal protection.