Illegal sand mining goes unchecked in Ajnala as admn looks other way

The illegal sand mining in the Ravi river belt in Ajnala and Ramdas area continues unabated while the Punjab Government and the district administration look the other way, if the recent instances are anything to go by.

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On Saturday, the Mining Department found two huge pits from Khanwal village in Ajnala from where the sand was excavated.

Following a complaint lodged by Abhishek Sharma, Mining Inspector, Amritsar Drainage Sub Division here, the Amritsar rural police have registered an FIR against unknown persons after he along with other officials found around 126,000 cubic feet sand excavated from huge pit measuring 126 X 50 X 20 square feet in Khanwal village in Ajnala subdivision. The team also found another pit measuring 168 X 136 X 18 feet nearby. The team also impounded a vehicle being used for excavating and transporting the illegally dug-out sand.

The raid was conducted following a complaint filed by several local residents on the online portal.

In another incident, the Ramdas police also recovered a goods carrier (PB05-Y-7077) carrying sand illegally and a case was registered a case against unknown driver in this regard.

Similarly, on Thursday, Mining Department officials raided Fattewal village in Ajnala wherein they found a dump of 1,280 cubic feet of sand, a Tata truck which was parked in a nearby house of the spot. Though the police have registered a case, further investigations are still in progress.

Ratan Singh Randhawa, a prominent leader of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, said just like tall and hollow claims over eradication of rampant drug abuse in the border state, illegal sand mining under the political shelter is also a reality. It continues unabated just like in the past.

“Nothing has changed at the ground while illegal sand mining in the river belt and many villages in the border belt is a harsh reality nobody can deny. A visit to the Ajnala and Ramdas will expose the hollow claims of the Punjab Government,” he said.

Last year in October 2024, a joint task force of the Mining Department and the Punjab Police busted illegal sand mining operations in Ajnala. The raid was monitored in the real-time in Chandigarh via body-worn cameras enabling senior officials at the headquarters to oversee the entire operation remotely. The raid was conducted at Dhangai village in Ajnala. The raiding parties had confiscated an excavator involved in illegal mining.

However, after that no such operations were carried out.