The Aravalli mountain range issue erupted after the Supreme Court accepted a new definition of the Aravalli Hills on November 20, raising fears that most of the range could be opened to mining. This triggered the Save Aravalli protests from late November to December, with activists across Rajasthan and Haryana demanding stronger environmental protection.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which people are seen protesting and pelting stones on police.
Social media users are sharing the video with a caption claiming that it shows people protesting for the protection of the Aravalli.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “They came to mine Aravalli, but people were beating them. Rajasthan’s public is out of control.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is old and from Chhattisgarh.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by an X account on December 3.
The video is shared with a caption that reads, “Chhattisgarh | Tensions escalated as protests broke out over the extension of South Eastern Coalfields Limited’s (SECL) Amera coal mine. As per officials, protesting villagers of Parsodi Kalan village of Ambikapur pelted stones at the police. In response, the police fired tear gas shells to disperse them.”
A closer look of the protest was also shared by News 18 India on December 3. The caption associated with the video suggests that it is of Ambikapur Coal Mine, where a massive uproar erupted on Wednesday over the expansion of the Amera coal mine. Villagers became enraged and pelted stones at the police. Police then resorted to a lathi charge after releasing tear gas.
The incident was also reported by The Times of India on December 3.
According to the report, in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district, violent clashes broke out on December 3 between villagers protesting the extension of the SECL Amera coal mine and the police, who tried to secure the site. Around 40 policemen and several villagers, including tribal residents and women, were injured as stone-pelting escalated into a pitched confrontation over land and mining expansion.
What is the Aravalli issue?
The Aravalli Hills, one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges stretching across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat, have faced long-standing threats from unregulated mining and development, harming groundwater, biodiversity and air quality.
On November 20, the Supreme Court accepted a uniform definition of the Aravalli hills, classifying only landforms that rise 100 metres or more above local ground level (including slopes and adjacent terrain) as protected ‘Aravalli.’ The court froze all new mining leases until a comprehensive sustainable mining plan is prepared, aiming to curb illegal extraction across the range.
