3 months on, illegal mining unabated in Tarn Taran village

Gurbax Puri

Tarn Taran, January 29

Under the cover of desilting pond at Rureassal village falling under the Naushehra Pannuan development block in the district, illegal mining has been going on unabated for the last three months. The whole administration is quite unaware of the illegal mining at the village pond.

Tarsem Singh, husband of the village sarpanch, confirmed that the mining work was not started with the permission of any of the authorities concerned.

After removing silt from the pond, which is situated in the heart of the village, the mud layer too was removed. Thereafter, more than 10 feet sand was excavated from 30 feet depth of the pond. The mining work is still going on day and night. The sand-laden tractor-trailers can be seen leaving the site round-the-clock.

There were reports that the sand removed from the pond was being sold in Tarn Taran, Jandiala Guru and other cities and at nearby villages. The pond is not covered with a wall or fencing.

Dilbag Singh, Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Naushehra Pannuan, said he had not visited the site. Vishal Mehta, District Mining Officer (DMO), did respond to mobile call and SMS sent on his WhatsApp number. Ashav, mining inspector, said he was posted in the department recently. Ashav said he had yet to collect information regarding illegal sand mining at the village pond.