Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 4: Despite a ban on the movement of heavy machines and vehicles on the Jhelum River embankments, sand miners in the Pulwama region of South Kashmir continue to transport mined sand on makeshift roads, seriously damaging the embankments and endangering the neighboring areas with flooding.
Locals and officials are both concerned about the continuous sand mining activities in the area because they have been related to a number of social and environmental problems. Residents said that the Government has ignored their complaints despite the fact that ongoing sand extraction has put embankments under tremendous pressure and caused the collapse of their foundations.
Areas like Reshipora, Dogripora, Larkipora, Dangerpora, Barso, Kakpora, Wokho, Pampore, Hatiwara, Banderpora, and Lelhar have been most severely impacted. “Officials are ignoring the problem, and it appears that their priorities lie with making money rather than safeguarding the public and the environment. The ecosystem of the region is being irreparably harmed by the sand mafia’s unchecked exploitation of the natural resources,” Ghulam Mohammad, a local from Dagripora, said.
Locals assert that miners are collaborating with Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department staff as it is impossible to carry out mining and transfer the material with such impunity without the cooperation of officials. “Notwithstanding the risks to the surrounding inhabitants and infrastructure, this malpractice has allowed illegal mining to go on,” another local said.
Experts have cautioned against excessive sand mining since it increases river velocity and erodes nearby banks, which harms not just embankments but also other infrastructure like bridges. They said the embankments are now susceptible to collapsing because the Government’s protective walls, built in the wake of the 2014 floods, were destroyed. They said that the indiscriminate sand extraction also harms the local ecology by destroying plant and animal life and polluting water sources.
An official at the Irrigation Department said that excessive sand mining has mostly hurt lift irrigation projects since rising riverbed erosion has rendered them ineffective. In most cases, he said, the water has dropped below the water pumps’ level that supply water to the field. “It is the worst challenge, and if it is not resolved right away, the impact on agriculture will be catastrophic,” he said.
Mukhtar Ahmad, Executive Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control said they have already raised the issue with the police and other relevant departments, and numerous miners have been placed on a blacklist. “Numerous violators have been identified and arrested over the last two years, and it is a continuous process. Today we sent another list of violators to the Tehsildar’s office for appropriate action,” he said.
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