The residents of Salal area in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir are basking in the glory of their new found identity ever since Geological Survey of India (GSI) has announced that it has discovered huge deposits of Lithium to the tune of 5.9 million tonnes in the region.

Several villages located in the close vicinity of the large block have overnight become 'hot spots' as several media teams have been camping in the area to cover the momentous occasion. The villagers in the area are also eagerly waiting for the new teams to arrive soon to start their advanced studies in order to determine the grade of the lithium deposits.

“We are feeling proud ever since the Geological Survey of India has confirmed the presence of Lithium deposits in our area”,  Rajinder Singh, Naib Sarpanch of the area said. Referring to the early days when GSI teams surveyed the whole area, Singh said the  GSI teams from Lucknow worked hard for about two years along with local volunteers and collected comprehensive samples. Now they have confirmed the presence of Lithium deposits. 

“We are hoping the problem of unemployment among the youth in the region will be addressed with the beginning of this new project”. 

Jaspal Singh, another local resident of Salal said, “The name of Reasi was famous for the Salal Power project and highest Railway bridge over Chenab. Now with these lithium deposits we have found a unique identity as Reasi becomes the only district in the whole of India where this mineral has been found”.