Illegal miners hit Swan, Sutlej riverbeds in Ropar at night

The Swan and Sutlej riverbeds in Ropar district turn into sprawling illegal mining hubs every night in defiance of state mining laws. During a midnight visit on the intervening night of November 10 and 11, The Tribune witnessed dozens of excavators and tippers operating openly under floodlights revealing a scale of unlawful activity far greater than what district authorities publicly acknowledge.

Despite repeated complaints and recent enforcement actions, illegal mining continues unchecked on the riverbeds of Anandpur Sahib and Nangal sub-divisions.

Mining in Punjab is legally permitted only from dawn to dusk. But the riverbeds were found buzzing with activity deep into the night, with heavy machinery digging, loading and transporting sand and gravel in full public view.

Sachin Pathak, SDM, Nangal, said that he had recently raided and confiscated three Poclain machines from the Swan riverbed. “I did not know that illegal mining has started again in the area. It seems the miscreants are taking benefit of officials being busy in the 350th martyrdom anniversary event of Guru Teg Bahadur being organised in Anandpur Sahib. Strict action will be taken against the culprits,” he said.

Ropar Deputy Commissioner Varjeet Singh Walia also denied any knowledge regarding illegal mining taking place on Swan and Sutlej riverbeds. When confronted with photos and videos, he said strictest possible action would be taken against illegal mining.

However, villagers question how such massive and noisy operations visible from kilometres away could remain unseen by enforcement teams.

During the midnight visit, this correspondent recorded 20–25 excavators, mostly Poclain machines, operating on the Swan riverbed near Algran village.

These machines were loading tippers continuously, which then moved toward stone-crushing units operating in the surrounding belt.

The noise of machinery filling the tippers could be heard up to 2 km away, disturbing nearby settlements.

Villagers from Bhallan and Algran said such illegal operations take place almost every night. According to them, the long queue of tippers heading towards Ropar every morning is evidence of the scale of extraction.

Villagers who assisted The Tribune in documenting the night mining claimed that illegal extraction was also taking place on land parcels attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

In a significant crackdown last month, the ED had attached 250 kanals of land across Ropar and two adjoining districts, stating that the properties were purchased using proceeds of illegal mining.

The attachment, issued on October 17, was undertaken under Section 5(5) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

A similar situation was found on the Sutlej riverbed near Agampur village, where floodlights illuminated the entire stretch around the Sutlej bridge despite the state ban on night-time operations.

Excavators were seen digging the riverbed while nearby stone-crushing units operated fully at night, again running contrary to government rules prohibiting their functioning after dusk.

The fresh ground observations indicate that official action has done little to deter the mining networks, which appear to be operating with greater boldness.

"If a villager or a reporter can easily see dozens of machines running openly at night, how can the enforcement teams not see it?" a resident asked, requesting anonymity.

From the evidence captured from the sites, night-time illegal mining appears not only rampant, but systematic raising serious questions about monitoring, accountability and the enforcement of Punjab’s mining laws.