In a letter written to the Union Environment Minister Jayanti Natrajan, with copies to the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister, the Defence Minister and the Railway Minister, PCC president Captain Amarinder Singh said that the crucial rail link between Jammu and Kashmir and rest of the country was threatened as the mining mafia had dug deep into the pillars and columns of the only railway bridge on the Ravi, connecting J&K with the rest of the country. “Due to the wanton mining by the mafia patronised by the Punjab Government, the bridges are in danger of collapsing as their foundations have been dug deep which threatens disastrous tragedies”, he warned.

Capt Amarinder stated that the State Government had failed to enforce the environmental regulations and now the situation was on the verge of disaster. He said, although the Punjab and Haryana High Court had taken strong cognisance of the environmental degradation caused by the wanton mining, the State Government had circumvented the Court orders.

“Rather, it used the Court directive to its own advantage thus not only endangering the environment but also robbing the state of money that would come to it through royalty”, he said. The former Chief Minister pointed out that several engineering experts and environmentalists have been continuously raising the alarm about the threat to the road and railway bridges on the Ravi river, but the Punjab Government remains unmoved. He said, the Punjab Government is not taking any action only because the mining mafia is being patronised by Majithia who takes the lion’s share from its sale.

Urging the Union Environment Minister to constitute a special task force to monitor the mining along the Pathankot belt, as it goes against the interests of national security and human safety, he said, the mining along the area must be banned for the time being.