AMRITSAR: Following acute shortage and soaring prices of sand and gravel, the farmers' organizations of border areas have come out in support of legal mining and have demanded from the government to allow the miners to carry out the legal excavation of major components of the concrete to save the construction industry.
"Till recent past, the cost of per trolley of sand and gravel used to be from Rs 9,000 to Rs 12,000 which has now gone anything between Rs 21,000 to Rs 24,000 per trolley," said leader of Border Area Sangarash Committee Rattan Singh Randhawa after a whirlwind tour of border villages and holding meeting with miners, sand and gravel dealers and those in the construction industry.
State general secretary of Zamhuri Kisan Sabha Dr. Satnam Singh Ajnala said the entire construction industry had come to a standstill due to non-availability and soaring prices of sand and gravel. "This has led to mass unemployment among the workforce in the construction industry which is worrisome", he said.
Notably, the Border Security Force (BSF), as well as army, had raised serious objections on the illegal mining in the border areas which they claimed was facilitating the cross-border smugglers and terrorists due to the gathering of a large number of unverified people in the vicinity of Indo Pak international border following which the Punjab and Haryana High Court had on August 29, 2022 stayed mining activities across river Ravi in Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts. The army had also objected to illegal mining which they claimed was causing soil erosion which was leading to the collapse of defense bunkers besides reducing the defense potential of dhussi.
Stating that the army and BSF had their own valid concerns, the farmer leaders opined that the mining could be allowed at least two to three kilometers from the International border where there were no such concerns.
Sources informed that no legal mining activities were being carried out near the international border in Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts however some excavation was being carried out away from the international border with Pakistan in the Amritsar district.
Rattan Singh Randhawa informed that keeping in view the crisis in mining as well as in the construction industry, they held a demonstration on Monday demanding the government to allow mining activities away from the international border with Pakistan.
In the recent past, Pathankot police alone had registered over 15 FIRs against illegal miners and had arrested around 21 illegal miners, and confiscated around 38 vehicles.
