Dera Bassi, April 23: Despite a ban, quarrying is going on unchecked at the Ghaggar river bed right under the nose of authorities concerned for the past couple of months. Taking the benefit of the unclear boundary of Bakarpur and Chhat villages at the Ghaggar river bed, a clan of politically well-connected persons is allegedly involved in illegal quarrying in connivance with the local police. Violators of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act-1957 are having a field day with the officials of all government departments busy in the Lok Sabha elections. Though the issue was brought to the notice of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Dera Bassi, last month, those involved in the illegal trade are operating during the night. “Since demand and supply graph of the construction material has witnessed a downward trend due to the ban, sand mafia is making a quick buck by selling sand, gravel and loose soil in the grey market,” said Amarjit Singh, a resident of Bhankharpur village. The illegally quarrying came to light when a sub-divisional officer (SDO) of the Punjab Irrigation Department wrote to the Dera Bassi police in this regard yesterday. In the application, the SDO told the police that some tractor-trailer owners descend on the Ghaggar river bed during odd hours and indulge in illegal quarrying. They had even challenged the employees of the Irrigation Department deployed at a site of a ready mix concrete plant at Bakarpur village. Inquiries revealed that tractor-trailer owners reach the spot between 10.30 pm and 11 pm and continue to ferry sand till next day at 3 am. “Deep pits dug up by officials of the Irrigation Department on the route to the Ghaggar river bed have failed to deter the violators,” said an employee of the department. Sanjeev Kumar, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Dera Bassi, claimed to have received information about the illegal quarrying at the Ghaggar river bed. “I have asked the police and the employees of the department concerned to keep a close watch on the quarrying at various places. I will also look into the matter,” the SDM said.