Mining mafia hand in glove with state govt, says Sukhbir

Mukerian, July 3

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today asked Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Cabinet Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria to disclose which rules permitted excavations up to 200 feet to extract sand, adding that land along several villages in the constituency had been ravaged by the sand mafia in connivance with the police.

Walking for a few kilometres around Dhamian, Sandhwal and Bringali villages after the mining mafia allegedly dug in trenches to restrict the movement of vehicles, Sukhbir said “such kind of tactics cannot stop the SAD from exposing the mafia whose links reach up to the Chief Minister as well as the All India Congress Committee”.

He said even though more than 10 villages had been ravaged by the mafia here, the government was least concerned. “Even today the local police facilitated the illegal miners by informing them about the visit in advance so that they could flee from the spot. The mafia is so brazen that they dug up trenches to ensure we could not reach the spot where illegal mining was being done,” Sukhbir alleged.

The SAD president said it was shocking that even though rules permitted excavation till 10 feet, the sand mafia had done excavations till 200 feet which had resulted in the formation of a lake in the area with groundwater seeping up.

Meanwhile, SAD workers staged a protest at Baghapurana town in Moga district against “illegal” mining being done in the area allegedly at the behest of Congress leaders. The SAD workers also blocked the highway for about 2 hours by raising slogans against Capt Amarinder Singh and local Congress MLA Darshan Singh Brar. — OC