River plunderers threat to rail, road bridges

Indiscriminate sandmining in Kerala's 46 rivers are causing 15 to 20 cm depth in riverbeds, adversely affecting the stability of hundreds of rail and road bridges across them, according to a study conducted by the Centre for Earth Science Studies here.

The study is particularly significant in the view of the latest rail disaster caused by the derailment of railway compartments from the Kadalundi bridge near Kozhikode killing more than 50 passengers and inuring hundreds.

Sandmining near bridges has been banned by the Kerala High Court but unscrupulous sand dealers still continue to plunder the rivers. Much harm has been done to the very existence of the rivers that have been the real lifelines of Kerala.

The centre's study covered Manimala river, Bharathapuzha, Periyar and several other rivers. The riverbed cavity caused by the sandmining resulted the outflow of sand not only in the mining spot but throughout the river, the study found.

The ever-increasing trend of illegal sandmining, encroachment on river basins and rising pollution level are all raising the spectre of an environmental disaster in Kerala. As a result, the entire riverine ecosystem in the state is in peril, according to ecologists.

The basins of major rivers in the state like the Bharathapuzha, Periyar, Chaliyar, Pumpa, Achankovil and Manipuzha are the worst affected, the ecologists point out.

Of the 46 rivers flowing through Kerala, almost all the rivers are confronted with the problem of disastrous situations arising out of man made disturbances like illegal sand mining and encroachment on river basins, apart from the water pollution.

Sand-laden boats moving on in large numbers towards the banks where trucks and carts are lined up to transport to any part of the state for construction works is a common sight. Those in the sand deal, as in the case of others engaged in blasting rocks and selling them to building contractors, make a fast buck with a small investment.

A full load of a small truck of the river sand fetches Rs1,100 to Rs1,350 if carried to a distance of five to 15 km in the central Travancore area.

On the other hand, the sand from the Periyar basin at the Aluva region near Ernakulam is the favourite for construction purposes. Though this sand costs almost double the price of that from the Pumpa and Achankovil rivers, builders prefer it since it is very clean and ready for use. But those who draw the sand from the basin are never bothered about the dangers of the sand mining. Their eyes are set only on getting rich quick.

In the case of Pumpa and Achankovil rivers, the sand mining is posing serious threats to a number of bridges and the riverine eco-system as a whole.

A recent study by the Bharathapuzha Samrakshana Samithi co-sponsored by the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment and the state Committee on Science, Technology and Environment has found that the entire heart of the riverbeds, where sand is usually found in abundance, is fully breached due to indiscriminate mining.

The river sand is being plundered all over south India. The situation is alarming in between Pattambi and Kuttippuram, where both legal and illegal sand quarrying goes on unabated, the study reveals.