Goa mining dependents launch protest in Delhi

Panaji: Mining dependants from Goa Tuesday launched a sit-in protest at the Ram Leela Maidan in New Delhi for resumption of mining activity in the coastal state. 

Around one thousand people under the banner of Goa Mining People's Front (GMPF) have gathered at the venue for the three-day-long protest, Goa Power Minister and BJP MLA Nilesh Cabral told PTI over phone from Delhi. 

The GMPF has been demanding that the Central government amend the mining law during the ongoing winter session of Parliament to enable resumption of mining activity, whose closure has affected livelihood of at least two lakh people in Goa. Mining activity, which used to be one of two major mainstays for revenue in Goa--the other being tourism--came to a halt in March this year after the apex court quashed renewal of 88 mining leases.