DH News Service, Chikkanayakanhalli: Mining equipment worth crores were set on fire by miscreants when the police tried to restart the mining activities in Abbige and Soppu hills region in accordance to the orders from the district administration on Thursday. Mining had come to standstill in the last 20 days here, with the local residents protesting against it. When word spread that the operations had commenced, thousands of people from nearby villages including Honnebagi, Bullenahalli, Jogihalli and Godikere gathered at the Malleshwara Swamy temple in Abbige to stop operations until their demands were met. The situation was turned ugly and mining machinery including crushers scanning equipment were set on fire by miscreants. Labourers fled fearing the scene. The loss is estimated at Rs 20 crore. The police were unsuccessful in controlling the crowd. DySP Dr Harsha assured the protesters that the taluk and district administration would attend to their demands, but added that they had no right to stop the mining activities of companies permitted by the Government. He also warned that those found guilty of having taken the law into their hands would be punished. However, B S Shivaprakash and H M Surendraiaha who led the protest said that the private companies who began mining in the region five years ago had assured that they would adopt the nearby villages for infrastructure development activities and create jobs for the people. "But they have done nothing about it so far. Their illegal mining has also ruined the eco-system in the region adversely effecting the human and animal life,' they said. They also charged that the district administration had assured that by August 2, they would find a solution to the villagers' demands and instead, had restarted mining in the area. They, however, denied that the protesting farmers had set the mining equipment on fire and added that all the protests by them in the last five years have been peaceful.