Illegal Mining of Rivers
By Dr Arvind Kumar
Swami Nigamanand’s death in Haridwar has once again brought into focus the rampant illegal mining around the River Ganga. Swami Nigamanand had gone on a fast to protest illegal mining along the Ganga near Haridwar. Most mining operations along the Ganga here are illegal and where government permits have been given, contractors often illegally mine deeper and outside their permitted areas. However, with little official supervision, unscrupulous contractors are plundering the Ganga River bed without any royalty payments to the government, allowing for huge profits. This is not happening in Haridwar alone, almost all big and small rivers are being illegally mined without any care or caution for the serious consequences of flash floods, soil erosion, silt or loosening of embankments.
The nemesis of this illegal mining falls on the people whose livelihoods are dependent on the rivers and who inhabit the embankments. There is need for building people’s movement to save the rivers. Local authorities should cooperate with the people and the civil society in saving the national assets in the form of rivers. India is already faced with acute shortage of drinking water and the rivers which are the source of fresh water are being polluted and robbed of other resources by vested interests in connivance with local authorities. The Central Government should come out with harsh punitive measures and encourage the civil society and local populace to safeguard the river beds.
