New Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner comes down heavily on illegal mining

With incidents of illegal mining increasing, particularly in Dinanagar assembly seat, new Deputy Commissioner (DC) Aditya Uppal has asked the SSP and Mining Department officials to confiscate the trucks, tippers and other machines involved in unauthorised evacuation.

There are some vulnerable points in Dinanagar along the Ravi river. Unscrupulous people have very conveniently, and shrewdly, turned these into favourite places to dig out sand from the river bed and sell it to outside sources, preferably in Amritsar and Ferozepur.

Sources revealed the miners are doing this under the garb of the ‘Jiska Khet, Uski Ret’ policy of the government.

The DC said, “Some incidents have been brought to my notice. I have asked SDMs and DSPs of the area to put an end to this menace. The Mining Department officials have been asked to keep an eye on places where people tend to enter the river bed with machines to dig out sand.”

There was an upsurge of residents of Marara village when they learnt excavation was going on in full swing. They gathered near the embankment and raised slogans. A local resident said, “Illegal mining over the last few years has meant that half a dozen villagers now face the threat of floods. The river has changed its course and there are chances that next time, during the rainy season, it may devour more lives and property.”

Officials, however, claimed that Marara villagers were irked because overloaded mining trucks had damaged the link roads although there were no reports of mining taking place.

Meanwhile, Dinanagar MLA Aruna Chaudhary has written to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to check this “nefarious practice”.

“It is double-whammy. First the floods destroyed houses, crops and livestock. Now miners are damaging the ecosystem,” she said.

The legislator has asked the authorities to register an FIR against the erring people.