ILLEGAL MINING: HC SEEKS REPORT FROM LUDHIANA DC, JUDGE

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday asked the district and sessions judge and deputy commissioner, Ludhiana, to visit areas on the banks of Sutlej river and submit a report by July 15 whether illegal mining is taking place. The high court bench of justice Rajan Gupta and Karamjit Singh acted on the plea of Ludhiana resident Balvir Singh, who alleged that illegal mining and misuse of embankment on Sutlej was rampant near Mattewara, Jhugian, Mangli, Ror, Boothgarh and Gadisheru villages in Ludhiana. He added that the illegal mining mafia was politically connected and no authority is paying attention to the requests.