Those opposing mining at Karoonjhar Hills do not want development, says mines minister

The elements opposing mining at the picturesque Karoonjhar Hills in Tharparkar are in fact the people opposed to the process of development.

Caretaker Sindh Minister for Mines and Mineral Resources Mir Khuda Bux Marri made this remark while addressing a press conference on Friday. He was of the view that the issue of mining at the Karoonjhar Hills had unduly been made controversial.

He said the government had the desire to extract mineral resources of the province and for that purpose, the Karoonjhar Hills would also be surveyed. Marri told journalists that there was no dearth of mineral resources in the country but unfortunately, progress could not be made in this regard due to undue controversies.

He lamented the situation that a major portion of Sindh’s population was destitute and lacked basic facilities despite the fact that the province was rich in minerals. He said the extraction of minerals could brighten the future of the country and ensure prosperity of its coming generations.

He said the areas of Thatta, Badin, Mithi and Tharparkar would be surveyed to find minerals, including raw materials, for the steel and iron industries. He assured the media that the parts of the Karoonjhar Hills that belonged to the natural heritage of the Thar region would not be touched during the mining process.

The mines minister said a few elements that opposed the mining process at the hills in fact did not like the progress of the native population of Thar. He informed the media that a task force had been formed to conduct surveys for new minerals in the province. He added that factories would be established in the province where mining would take place. He said media personnel would also be taken to witness the surveying at the Karoojhar Hills for mining.