Lalitpur, December 20:

The Lalitpur District Development Committee (LDDC) has decided to form a team under the coordination of the Department of Mines and Geology to locate, within six months, a place where two polluting stone quarries based at the Jhyaluntar Community Forest in Chapagaon VDC, can be shifted, Ram Chandra Neupane, chairperson of the ECO-Nepal, said.

The LDDC took the decision at a meeting held today with representatives of political parties and other stakeholders.

The team will comprise officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Lalitpur District Forest Office, District Land Conservation Office and Cottage and Small Industries Office. It will submit a report to the LDDC, identifying the areas where the Purna Dhunga Roda Udhyog Pvt Ltd (PDRU) and Champapur Dhunga Roda Udhyog Pvt Ltd (CDRU) can be shifted.

Meanwhile, demanding the closure of the two stone quarries, locals of Jhyaluntar of Chapagaon VDC staged a sit-in at the LDDC today. They said the quarries had adversely affected agricultural production, caused sources of water to dry up and polluted air in the locality.

The DDC had called an all-party meeting after a clash ensued between locals, labourers and owners of the Purna Dhunga Roda Udhyog Pvt Ltd (PDRU) in August over the operation of the Udhyog.

Representatives of the CPN-UML, Nepali Congress, Nepali Congress (Democratic), Maoists, Jana Morcha Nepal, CPN-ML, ECO-Nepal, the Centre for Integrated Mountain Research and Development and the Jhyaluntar Community Forest User’s Group took part in the meeting.

Neupane said the CEMORD, ECO-Nepal, Bageshwori Yuba Club and Jhyaluntar Community Forest User’s Group will provide employment opportunities to the local labourers who will be rendered jobless once the quarries are shifted.