Contrary to the Punjab government’s claims of having effectively controlled illegal mining in the state, unauthorised mining continues unabated in Khijrabad village near here. During a visit to the site, located two kilometers from the village in the middle of a forest area close to a seasonal river, the Tribune team found a huge pit in an eight acres of land. The pit was formed due to the continuous excavation of sand and gravel. The pit was 12-feet deep and village residents said that the land in question belonged to the village. “It’s a shaamlat (common) land,” said Gurvinder Singh, a village resident. “As many as 150 sand and gravel-loaded tippers are dispatched from this place every night,” Sukhwinder Singh, another resident said. “It is not only mining that is going on here, but trees are also being felled and the shaamlat land being grabbed,” he added. The Tribune team found that several trees had been felled and their trunks were lying at the site. Another tractor-trailer loaded with sand was also parked nearby. “The illegal activities are going on in connivance with certain influential people of the area,” added Gurpreet Singh another resident. Residents said that they had made several complaints to the police and the mining officers from time to time, but all in vain. “Every time police officials say that they will soon reach the spot, but no one ever turns up,” claimed Sukhwinder Singh. When contacted, the Mohali Deputy Commissioner, Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu, said that special teams for vigilance at night are being constituted. “We had teams doing the rounds during the day, but will now extend our vigilance operations into the night,” he said. “I have ordered the officials concerned to look into the matter immediately,” he added. Last year, 88 cases for illegal mining were registered in the district. This year, the figure has already touched 137 cases, till date.