Jaipur: The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) organised 'Aravalli Bachao, Bhavishya Bachao' rally in the city Friday, attracting significant participation from senior Congress politicians, including Sachin Pilot and party MLAs. Pilot participated in the march with his son, the first time that he brought his son to a political demonstration. The rally started from Jalupura police station and was supposed to end at the Collectorate but was halted by the police before it could conclude. Police stopped the march at the Govt Hostel intersection, warning that permission had been granted up to that point only and that action would be taken if they attempted to proceed further.The protest aimed to highlight issues regarding illegal mining in the Aravalli range, which Pilot criticised as govt's lack of action against new mining leases. He said that the BJP govt changed the definition of the Aravalli hill range based on the height of the mountain, and the Supreme Court's acceptance of this new definition is posing a serious threat to the existence of this mountain range. "Aravalli hill range stands as a protective shield for the environment and millions of people. The govt should clarify what compulsions and reasons led to pushing this thousands-years-old mountain range towards destruction," said Pilot. Referring to Forest Survey of India (FSI) data, Pilot said that 90 per cent of the Aravalli range would become unprotected under the definition prescribed by the Centre. Pilot said, "According to FSI data, there are 1.18 lakh hills in the Aravalli range below 100 metres, while only 1,048 hills are above 100 metres. This means nearly 90 per cent of the Aravalli area would go outside the definition and become unprotected." Pilot added that the govt banned new mining leases, but illegal mining continues unabated. "Thousands of cases of illegal mining have been registered in over a dozen districts of the state in the last two years. The govt is trying to mislead people with a web of statistics. Illegal mining is rampant in the Aravalli region of the state, which the govt has completely failed to stop," said Pilot, during his address to the rally. Adarsh Nagar MLA Rafiq Khan, who joined the NSUI march, said that the Aravalli issue is very serious and affects people from across northern India. "Not only the Congress party, but also the entire country is united on this issue. All the statements made by Union Minister Bhupendra Singh Yadav are false and baseless. He should simply announce that they are withdrawing the 100-metre proposal." Meanwhile, a stage for the event was set up in front of Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal's official residence in Jalupura. Beniwal objected to this, after which it was shifted about 200 metres away from the original location.