Assam: Villagers Rally on World Environment Day to Demand Halt to Sand Gravel Mining in Boko River

Boko: Hundreds of villagers including women and children staged protest against the State Forest Department demanding an end to the mining of sand gravel in Gohalkona, Lapgaon and Kompaduli from the Boko river on the occasion of the World Environment Day.

The Border Area Development Youth Organisation organized the protest rally along with tree plantation in the area. Villagers from Gohalkona, Jongakhuli, Komaduli, Lepgaon and Katholpara had taken part in the day-long programme. Before the agitation, villagers went to the incident site where a man named Uday Sarania from Lepgaon village had lost his life in the Boko river on May 17, when he went to take bath. Villagers paid floral tribute to him and prayed for him at the spot. However, people of the area alleged the incident happened only because of the sand gravel mining in the area. Now the villagers have demanded financial aid for his family from the state government.

Jonson Sangma, president of the Border Area Development Youth Organisation said that they are now tired of filing memorandum to the SDC, Ranger, DC, DFO, Forest Minister and other related officials to stop the sand gravel mining. “The sand gravel mining started from January 25, 2023 and after that the river water was totally polluted. The water is no longer available for human use for bathing or other uses.”

Uncontrolled sand and gravel mining modifies riverbeds, causing greater erosion, alterations to channel morphology, and disturbance of aquatic environments, according to Jonson Sangma. Sand gravel mining leads to loss of stability in stream channels, threatening the survival of native species adapted to pre-mining habitat conditions. Depletion of sand and gravel from river beds contributes to increased flooding and sedimentation in rivers and coastal areas.

Aquatic habitats suffer from altered flow patterns and sediment loads, which have an adverse effect on the flora and fauna. Deep pits formed due to sand mining can cause a drop in the groundwater table. This in turn affects local drinking water wells, leading to water scarcity in surrounding areas. Habitat disruption and degradation arising from activities such as sand mining lead to the significant loss of biodiversity, adversely affecting both aquatic and riparian species.

Bhargabh Hazarika, the Singra Forest Range Officer, promised throughout the questioning process that he would look into the situation properly and take the appropriate steps.

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