Look what they’ve done to our rivers (The Hindu 16 September 2012)

The Hindu Sand mining being done using machies at Amaravathi sand reach File photo T. Vijaya Kumar

Reckless sand mining from river banks in Rajasthan’s Mewal region is causing drying up of wells, damaging agriculture and thwarting the future of the Jaisamand Lake

At a time when in a situation of escalating water crisis in Rajasthan the topmost priority is supposed to be accorded to water conservation, hundreds of wells, four rivers and a huge lake are all threatened by reckless mining. This is happening in Mewal area of Udaipur district, right in the catchment area of one of the region's most important lakes — Jaisamand.

Till some time back, nearly 100 villages of the Mewal region (including parts of four tehsils — Lasadia, Girva, Vallabhnagar and Salumbar) were known for prosperous agriculture and flourishing animal husbandry.

These livelihoods were fed by water from four rivers and hundreds of riverside wells. The water of the seasonal rivers filtered down to wells helping to maintain year-round good water level that watered the abundant crops.

All this changed with the advent of large scale sand mining in the rivers and later, the introduction of heavy machinery for this purpose. As huge quantities of sand were lifted from river-beds day after day, the recharge of river water in wells was severely affected. Several wells dried up fully, while water level in others was lowered drastically.

Agriculture spread over a vast area is now denied irrigation. In addition, several riverside fields were eroded and trees have withered.

Other than these visible damages, the long term implications are more harmful.

As public interest lawyer Mannaram Dangi, who has studied this issue closely, says, “In the longer term, this large scale mining also poses a bigger risk in the form of denial of water to Jaisamand Lake. The catchment area of such an important lake should have been well protected; but earlier rampant tree felling was carried out and now indiscriminate mining has caused even more damage to this catchment area.”

After studying the fast changing situation in these villages, the people's forum for environment and human development (PFEHD) — Paryavaran Evam Manav Vikas Lok Manch — has concluded that the base of sustainable livelihoods including agriculture and animal husbandry has eroded very rapidly after the advent of large scale mining.

With the sharp decline of irrigation and farm production, forced migration in search of livelihood options has several folds.

If mining goes on unchecked, all these disturbing trends will be accelerated in the near future, the Jaisamand Lake will be threatened and the entire region will become more drought-prone.

Drawing attention to these various problems, the PFEHD has demanded in a memorandum submitted to the State’s Mining Department as well as other authorities that sand mining in Gomti, Kharka, Jamri, Makrari, Ruparel rivers and other smaller rivulets should be stopped immediately, keeping in view the large scale damage already done.

In addition, the organisation has demanded that an experts’ panel should be constituted to assess the damage caused by excessive sand mining and suggest appropriate measures for repairing it and protecting water sources.