Says, this year’s devastating floods should come as warning signal
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh-
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today called for an environmental audit across Punjab in view of excessive sand mining from river beds, along the banks and near the road and railways bridges.
He said, this year’s devastating floods should come as a warning signal for the state against an imminent disaster that the state is confronting if corrective measures are not taken immediately.
In a statement issued here today, Warring welcomed the environmental concern, awareness and strong resistance being put up against allowing indiscriminate mining in Aravalli ranges. He said the situation in Punjab was equally bad. “We have already faced the devastating floods which experts attributed, among other things, to indiscriminate mining along the river banks and in the riverbeds”, he noted, while calling for statewide environmental audit and action.
The PCC president warned against any laxity on the issue saying, particularly in the riverbeds near the road and rail bridges, where the mining contractors resort to wanton mining, there must be fresh environmental assessment.
Warring said that the Aravalli issue should come as a warning sign for Punjab also. Although the nature of environmental degradation is different in Aravalli ranges and Punjab, the reason is the same and that is the illegal mining done out of greed.
He observed that while the Aravallis got noticed because of their proximity to the national capital, in Punjab, everyone seems to be turning a blind eye towards the issue which is literally a matter of life and death for the state as was proved by the devastating floods this year. Warring also said that the issue must be dealt along non-partisan lines and everyone should rise above partisan divisions to save Punjab’s environment without any blame games against each other.