Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed an absolute ban on all mining and desilting activities beneath the Agampur bridge in Sri Anandpur Sahib. Taking a stringent stance on the preservation of public infrastructure, the high court has ordered the Punjab government to submit exhaustive details by June 16, 2026, regarding the allocation of mining contracts in the area, including the exact date the tender was floated and the complete background of the allocated contractor.
The judicial intervention follows a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a local resident, Prem Dutt Sharma, who highlighted the severe ecological and structural risks posed by unchecked excavation under the critical transit link. The Agampur bridge serves as a vital arterial route connecting Sri Anandpur Sahib with several other major regions of Punjab. During the previous hearing, the high court had issued a notice to the state government and sought a comprehensive status report from the Rupnagar Deputy Commissioner. However, during Monday’s proceedings, the state authorities failed to submit the required affidavit, merely stating that the Public Works Department (PWD) was currently carrying out essential works at the site.
Refusing to accept vague verbal submissions, the division bench demanded that the state government produce the specific official order under which the current riverbed operations are being executed. The high court observed that photographic and video evidence presented by the petitioner clearly demonstrated that the ongoing riverbed excavation poses an immediate structural threat to the foundational piers of the bridge. Consequently, all excavation and silt removal operations have been halted until the next date of hearing on June 16, by which time the state must account for its tendering process.
