The ongoing protest against illegal stone mining in the hills near Deeg in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district took on a turn on Wednesday when a monk immolated himself as part of the demonstrations. The man, identified as Vijay Das, was rushed to Jaipur in a critical condition, having sustained 80% burns.
A second monk, Narayan Das, climbed up a mobile phone tower to register his protest. He was said to be in a state of shock when he descended after the incident.
BJP State president Satish Poonia, who met Vijay Das at Sawai Man Singh Government Hospital here, said the Congress government had failed to stop illegal mining in a region of religious significance despite strong resentment among the local people. He said the self-immolation of the seer had exposed the government’s “obstinate stance” of not resolving the long-pending issues.
The area, comprising Kankachal and Adi Badri hills, forms part of the Braj Chaurasi region, which is the main centre of Krishna circuit of the Hindu pilgrimage. The two hills were left out of a notification in 2009, which had declared large parts of Deeg and Kaman tehsils as forest areas. The monks had been staging a protest for several days, demanding a ban on the illegal mining in view of the area’s religious significance.
In response to the protests, the district administration extended the suspension of mobile and internet services — put in place on Tuesday — by a day in Pahadi, Deeg, Nagar and Sikri areas on Wednesday.
