KANCHANPUR – Mahakali River has many stories. Tagged along with that are the painful plight of many Nepalis. We don’t need wait for the monsoon to get a sense of the hardship faced by Nepali people living along the river bank. All it takes is the melting of snow during a scorching sun. The river floods and enters the human settlements. The river forces many to leave their homes even during April-June. Mahakali has many such tragic stories to tell.
But during this season, everyone is busy on the banks of Mahakali. People are digging Mahakali river banks, from where they collect sand, pebbles and stones. And then they exchange the aggregates with money. Mahakali River gives income to the people during dry season as much as it gives trouble during rainy season.
People living on the banks of Mahakali River, who are suffering due to Indian embankment, become delighted in this season. Crowds of people are seen on the banks of Mahakali River at this time of the year. India has drawn almost all its water towards its canal. Only a meagre amount of water flows in Mahakali River.
Nepal Forum of Environment Journalists (NEFEJ) organized “Water Interaction” program in Dodhara-Chandani of Mahakali Municipality to discuss the ways to make the extraction of aggregates from the river environment-friendly. On the one side of Mahakali River lies Bhimdutta Municipality, while Mahakali Municipality lies on the other bank. On both banks of the river, hordes of people can be seen refining sands and separating stones and pebbles.
Bhimdutta Municipality has prepared Initial environmental examination (IEE) report for the extraction of river materials. However, the Mahakali Municipality hasn’t prepared no such report.
At the interaction, all elected representatives including mayor, deputy mayor, ward chairmen expressed their commitment to prepare IEE at the earliest. “It is true that we have been excavating aggregates from the Mahakali river for many years. But we had no idea about its procedure,” said Mahakali Municipality Mayor Bir Bahadur Sunar. “We are also consulting with Bhimdutta Municipality. Soon environment examination would be conducted by inviting consultants,” he said.
He said such excavation has been stopped in sensitive areas such as dyke, around 200-meter stretch of the banks near bridges and highly eroded banks. Flags with notice have been placed directing not to extract sand and stones from the area. But there is no monitoring. People lift the flags and put it in the places where it will be suitable for them. Mayor Sunar, however, pledged that the municipality will conduct regular monitoring.
Mahakali Municipality Ward 7 Chairman Gyanendra Bahek Chhetri expressed his expectations for support from experts and the organizations working in environmental sector, saying that they do not have much knowledge and experience about environment. “We think that the Mahakali river is not only gives us trouble but also income. But we are worried whether it will invite another disaster,” he said.
Mostly, the extractions of aggregates are taking place on the banks of Mahakali in the area of ward 1 and 4 of Mahakali Municipality. There is not scientific way to extract river materials. People dig wherever they please, extract sand and pebbles and sell. No price rate has been set and people sell them in their own way.
Nowadays, the banks of Mahakali look like a weekly vegetable market. But that’s the market of sand and pebbles. How much sand to extract? The locals have the same reply, “until the water emerges.” Since its the river bank area, somewhere the water level is found after digging 1 meter, while at other points the pits are shallower than a human.
Another participation at the interaction, Bimala Bohara, of Mahakali Municipality-1, said it has been around seven years since she started extracting sand, and pebbles from the river bank. She doesn’t extract sand from the 2-meter area near the river bank where flags have been placed. There is specific area in the river bank from where she extracts sand and pebbles. She and her daughter together earn around Rs 200,000 by selling the aggregates in nine months. “Occasionally ward chairmen visit the river basin and tells us not to extract sand from embankment area. Otherwise, no body visits,” Bohara said. “There is not specific price rate. We sell at our own rate. But we don’t dig deeper than one meter,” she said.
Sita Devi Singh, who was accompanying Bohara, shared similar experience. She said people from outside the village also come to the village to excavate sand during season. They put up a makeshift hut on the river banks. Presently, many such temporary huts can be seen along the River Bank. “We don’t dig deeper than 1 meter after the water appears. But the people coming from outside dig very deep,” said Singh. “It will be difficult to extract from a deep hole.” She further said the extracted sand should be carried on head for refining.
According to Mahakali Municipality Ward-4, Chairman Bhakta Bahadur Sunar, the municipality has decided to ban the extraction of sand, and pebbles in around 200-meter area from embankments and bridges. The local authority has also advised the sand miners to desist from extracting aggregates from the river area. But some of them extract sand from near the embankment area.
Everyone knows about it. But the Municipality has not been able to take action against them due to lack of clear procedure for action against such violation of rules. “Miners have been extracting aggregates from the river banks despite our monitoring,” said Sunar. “We haven’t been able to take action. Perhaps because of lack of rules and law. Had we taken action, such rampant extraction could have been controlled to some extent. From now on, we will strictly monitor.”
Ward-8 Chairman Om Prakash Rokaya said they are worried about the damage caused by Mahakali River. He pledged to try and stop mining activities from the river banks. A non-governmental organization has been conducting a study on the extraction of sand from Mahakali River.
According to a preliminary survey done by Nepal Environment and Education Development Society (NEEDS), a non-governmental organization working in environment sector of Kanchanpur district for long, the Environmental Impact Assessment report prepared by Bhimdutta Municipality has been been implemented. NEEDS Water Project Coordinator Ishwor Upadhyay said Mahakali Municipality has not prepared environmental examination report while Bhimdutta Municipality’s report has not been complied.
“Many women collect sand but they don’t care about their health, and there is no regularity of monitoring,” said Upadhyay. “There are also issues of security. Stones are extracted from the water and this has affected the habitat of aquatic animals.” He said NEEDS will soon make public its report and it will work together with both the municipality and prepare a guideline for extracting the aggregates. That will make the excavation easier and regulated.
The following commitments were endorsed by the interaction:
- Mahakali Municipality will prepare environment examination report for extraction of river materials.
- Municipality will conduct regular monitoring about the extraction of river aggregates.
- Awareness program for environment-friendly extraction of aggregates.
- Maintain uniformity in the price rate of sand, pebbles and stones.
