Panaji: The Goa Mining Peoples’ Front (GMPF) started an online petition on Monday seeking resumption of mining operations in the state. The GMPF, which is an umbrella organisation of mining dependants, has kept a target of 10,000 signatures for the petition, and wants to submit it to the Chief Justice of India.The petition — ‘Protection of livelihood of lakhs of Goans through early resumption of mining in Goa’— states that the industry has been a key contributor to socio-economic development in the state, whether critical infrastructure in the health, social, sporting or educational sectors.The GMPF will also submit the petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, chief minister Manohar Parrikar, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, BJP president Amit Shah and others.Mining came to a halt from March 16, 2018, following a Supreme Court ruling in February 2018, which quashed renewal of 88 mining leases.The dependants’ petition states that people with selfish agenda are hell bent on destroying the industry and discrediting its contribution to the state. Mining was the biggest industrial employer in the state providing livelihood to at least 60,000 Goans. Truckers, mechanics, painters, small tea stall owners and others derived their daily bread by through ancillary activities, it states.The GMPF petition states, “The question remains on how long someone can keep on persevering in the face of adversity. It has been a year that thousands have not earned a single penny. Soon many more may be left with no source of livelihood. Instances of loan defaults, seizure of properties are on the rise in the state. If mining doesn’t restart at the earliest, there is a strong possibility that the state may never recover from the social and economic point of view.”“We, therefore would like to urge all who are addressed in this petition to kindly take up the matter and aid us in resuming mining operations in the state of Goa,” the petition adds.

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