Mirigama residents protest against sand mining

COLOMBO (News1st): Protests erupted in Mirigama on Saturday against environmental destruction caused by sand mining taking place with the approval of authorities. Residents pointed out that sand mining has affected water sources in the area. "Mining is taking place atop a mountain. All the water sources reaching these villages emerge from this mountain range," one protestor demanded. Protestors pointed out that environmental destruction has been taking place due to mining. "We firmly state that the ruling party is responsible for this. The entities involved in this are doing this with their backing," a resident claimed. But another group of residents staged a protect in favour of mining citing that they are being used for development projects. "Are we suppose to get sand from India to construct this road?" a protestor queried. He pointed out that approval has been obtained from the relevant state institutions to carry out mining in the area.