Illegal sand mining on the banks of the river Beas is going on unabated in villages of Tarn Taran even as the district has no approved mine.
The residents of Gagrewal, Jalalabad and Bhalojala villages in Khadoor Sahib sub-division say they have been complaining to the mining department about the illegal practice for the last one year, but to no avail.
The land situated on the riverbank is getting eroded continuously due to unchecked quarrying, say the villagers. “It has been over a year since this is going on. Around 70 acre land, including that of the panchayat, has been eroded in our village. More land of some marginal farmers is exposed to the risk,” said Jagroop Singh, a farmer of Gagrewal village.
“We lodge complaints with the police and the mining department, but no action is taken. Those involved in mining flee from the spot before a team of police or mining officials reaches here. On our repeated complaints, police often register complaint against unidentified men,” he added.
Residents say the sand mafia uses small boats for excavation from the riverbed.
“The mafia men come from across the river through Kishangarh village in Kapurthala district in night. They dig sand on the riverbank in the villages of Tarn Taran district. They load excavated sand on boats to take it across the river. The sand is further transported in tractor-trailers,” a local said.
{{/usCountry}}“The mafia men come from across the river through Kishangarh village in Kapurthala district in night. They dig sand on the riverbank in the villages of Tarn Taran district. They load excavated sand on boats to take it across the river. The sand is further transported in tractor-trailers,” a local said.
{{/usCountry}}Gagrewal sarpanch Harbhajan Singh, who owes allegiance to the ruling Congress, said the village panchayat is against illegal mining. “Some mafia men wanted to use heavy machines in the riverbed for illegal excavation of sand a few days back, but the panchayat strongly opposed it,” he said.
Executive engineer (mining, Tarn Taran) Ajit Singh said, “We don’t find anything when we conduct raids in these villages. On the complaints of villagers, we have got registered 27 cases against those involved in alleged mining.”
Khadoor Sahib sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Rajesh Sharma said he also got complaints about mining from the residents of villages. “We came to know that mining is going on. I have asked the officials of the mining department and Punjab police to take a strict action against the guilty.”