We have a cycling group in Gurgaon, where I live, and since we are all yatris (travellers) and use pedal power, we named our group Pedalyatri. Our aim is to explore hidden treasures around Gurgaon, Faridabad and Delhi. So, we often find ourselves scouring Google earth, looking for elusive trails over Aravalis, and then trying them out. Nine out of 10, our assessment of whether the route is cycleable or not is accurate.

There have been times when the trails have proven to be extremely puncture prone, so much so that on one of the rides, 14 of us ended up with over 40 punctures. As a group, however, we enjoy it and over a period, we have become so good at fixing punctures and changing tubes that the joke amongst ourselves is that we are better at it than any cycle mechanic.

We have also been to areas of the Aravalis that have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. It is the same area that the apex court’s monitoring body had recently said was unauthorised and must not be developed. We have seen in this area the name plates of super rich and super powerful, occupying virtually the entire hill top in some cases. These include several among those we often find holding forth on various fora about what is right and wrong. One name plate among these illegally developed parts is that of a powerful and prominent union cabinet minister in the current government.

However, despite the ability to lap it all up with a smile, we certainly weren’t prepared for a sight that hit us on one of our recent trails. We had been reading all about how the mining mafia, in their greed, had raped the Aravalis. These stories had often been accompanied by a picture or two. But this was not what we expected.

What had happened that this ride of ours was turning into another puncture festival, so we decided that we would walk a few KMs to the road head, repair the tyres and then ride. We followed the map on our GPS purposefully when we suddenly came across a giant hole in the ground. What we saw cannot really be described in words, so I will let the photographs do the hard task, while I will attempt to add captions wherever necessary.

Photos: Anand Sinha/Bobby Joseph/Rajesh Kalra

(The trail was thorny, and all of us had punctures so we decided to walk.)

(This is what we saw from a distance. Still had no idea what lies ahead.)

(We were getting closer.)

(The first look into the manmade crater.)

(Look at the labyrinth of truck tracks.)

(One rider, standing at the edge, almost fell as the earth underneath caved in.)





(Once we realised there’d be no more punctures, we sat down to repair our tyres in the middle of the mine.)

Honestly, having seen this disgraceful rape of the hill, do you think there is a way out? The mining has stopped, officially that is, after the apex court’s strong intervention. But for all practical purposes, it seems to be on paper alone. We often ride through areas where mining is officially banned, but we still hear detonator blasts. Not just that, since trucks are conspicuous, we have seen camels, scores of them, ferrying material being excavated from mines.





(Camels instead of trucks.)

Looking at all this, one wonders. Where is all this greed leading to? When those who are supposed to lead us care two hoots, should we? I think we should. It is our nation, and if they don’t, we need to make them understand that they are doing wrong and we will not let them do this to our nation. There is a story in today’s Times of India that an irate motorist was so exasperated with the rule breaking hoodlum at one toll plaza that he whipped out a revolver and threatened the truant driver to behave else! I am not the one for vigilante justice, as it will only add to the anarchical state. But, when those we have elected to govern us turn into rulers who have no respect for laws, we wonder whether vigilante justice is such a bad thing.