A two-kilometre walk through wheat fields and a eucalyptus tree-lined mud track from Rorewal village in rural Amritsar leads to the banks of the river Ravi, where two abandoned earthmovers and mounds of sand lie across the river, cutting a defining image of the lucrative mining business. With no living-being, man or animal, anywhere in the vicinity, the surroundings are eerie, the oppressive stillness of the air broken only by the occasional revving of tractor engines in the distance. It was from this village that in 2019, the police arrested two persons for illegal sand excavation.
Rorewal locals said the earthmovers stopped their digging and sand-laden tipper trucks ended their undulating trips from the river banks about two months back, or around the time the elections were announced in the state. The villagers, mostly landless agriculturalists and buffalo rearers, have heard of the rancorous political mudslinging the sand mining issue has generated in the ongoing elections, especially after the arrest of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew, Bhupinder Singh alias Honey, in a 2018 illegal sand mining case, but they are mostly unmoved.
“Before the excavation stopped trucks loaded with sand used to ply here daily while we went about our business. For us what matters is to get enough food to eat, politics over sand mining doesn’t bother us,” said Satnam Singh, 48, who rears buffalos. Sukhvinder Singh, 26, a kirana shop owner, said sand mining was not an illegal activity and the excavation in his village was taking place with government licence. “Why is there so much fuss over sand mining? If rules are being followed then it should not be an issue but if there is something illegal going on then action must take place,” he said.
The sense of bemused detachment also runs across Udhowal village, Jalandhar, about 100km away, where panchayat members had complained of official connivance in illegal sand mining in their area in 2019. “Sand mining takes place on the Satluj river but we are not concerned. We want a government that works for the people, not one that makes empty promises only,” said Kulwant Singh, 68, a farmer, before leaving to entertain guests who came on a Mitsubishi Pajero.
Jagjit Singh, 54, a co-villager, was of the view that Channi’s nephew had been arrested only because of the election. “The case was registered in 2018, why was no action taken against him for four years,” he said, a Congress flag adorning the entrance to his home.
Whether it is Rorewal or Udhowal, the sand mining issue in the languorous towns and villages is only cannon fodder for a smear campaign by the politicians and a topic for prime-time TV debates. For the people on the ground, it is only a subset of the larger issue of corruption in high places.
“So many illegal things are going on. The politicians are involved in drug smuggling, illegal sand mining and corruption. There should be action against all politicians involved in all these activities,” said Harbans Ram, 67, a retired arnyman in Sansarpur village, a crucible of Olympic hockey players just outside Jalandhar. The recent arrest of Honey Singh, Channi’s nephew, in an illegal sand mining case has come in handy to throw mud at the chief minister.
The Aam Aadmi Party, the Amarinder Singh-BJP combine and even his voluble and loquacious party colleague, Navjot Singh Sidhu, have targeted him over the issue. “Channi, Honey and money,” is how the meme against the chief minister runs. The opposition will hope that the gathering sand mining storm will blow Channi away, leaving the CM to rue a missed opportunity in its wake. But the voters want jobs and an end to drugs and corruption. “These issues affect the people immediately, sand mining is a long-term problem,” said Kewal Singh, 44, a cloth merchant in Gurdaspur.
H Khogen Singh @ Amritsar/Gurdaspur/Jalandhar (Punjab)