ILLEGAL RIVER MINING

PAMBA RIVER – PATHANAMTHITTA, KOZHENCHERRY

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Brian Boby Thomas

B.Arch19 / A-Batch
Roll No: 17
PAMBA - DAKSHINA BHAGEERATHI

 The Pamba River (also called Pampa river) is the longest river in

the Indian state of Kerala after Periyar and Bharathappuzha, and the
longest river in the former princely state
of Travancore. Sabarimala Temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa is
located on the banks of the river Pamba.
 The river is also known as 'Dakshina Bhageerathi'. During ancient
times it was called 'River Baris'.
PAMBA - DAKSHINA BHAGEERATHI

 The Pamba originates at Pulachimalai hill in the

Peerumedu Plateau in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1,650
metres (5,410 ft.)
 It flows through Chittar, Kozhencherry, Vadasserikkara, Ranni,
Ayroor, Cherukara, Maramon, Aranmula, Arattupuzha, Edanad,
Puthenkavu, Chengannur, Kallissery, Pandanad, Parumala, Mannar,
Kadapra, Melpadom, Thevery, Veeyapuram, Thakazhy,
Pullangady, Pallathuruthy before emptying into the Vembanad
Lake.
DISTRICT’S OUTLETS

 The Pathanamthitta district is drained by four major perennial river

of Kerala, such as Manimala, Pamba, Achankovil and Kallada.
 Of these, Pamba and Achankovil rivers drain more than 70% of the
total area of the district.
INITIATION

 The sand and gravel are one of the most important construction
materials. Ensuring their availability is vital for the development of
the infrastructure in the country.
 Unfortunately, sand is also essential for a river.
1. It regulates a river’s flow,
2. floodplains store water,
3. recharge ground water,
4. filter pollutants,
5. allows aquatic life to thrive.
INITIATION

 When sand is taken out,

1. Water tables sink,
2. Rivers dry up,
3. Changes course,
4. Banks collapse,
5. Floodplains get pitted with ponds,
6. Silt chokes rivers,
7. Vegetation and habitats get destroyed and
8. Dust pollution kicks in.
IN GENERAL

 India has no record of the status of sand sources in a district, says

the Ministry of Environment report.
 No data, too, on the demand or consumption of sand in India,
although going by the spiralling rise of cement use in the last 20
years from 1.37 billion tonnes in 1994 to 4.8 billion tonnes in 2016,
one can make a guess.
GOD’S OWN COUNTRY

 Kerala is in strong grip of unsustainable sand mining which has

been happening for decades in the rivers and coastal areas of the
state.
 The major disasters which state has suffered hugely was in 2004
Tsunami and 2018 Floods which, as several reports explain, were
aggravated by illegal sand extraction. Yet nothing seems to have
changed.
 Apart from violation of environmental norms, the extraction of
finite mineral is going on, ignoring the nature’s warnings.
THE NEGLIGENCE

 There is no estimate of permissible volume that can be extracted

from a river, upstream or downstream, or height of a riverbed below
which mining cannot occur;
 No bar on harmful extraction methods, depth of mining or
minimising harmful effects; no long-term monitoring program or
annual status reports
 No mandate on reclamation of river banks and beds. And, more
than anything,
 No effort to move towards sand substitutes: quarry dust, incinerator
ash, desert sand, manufactured sand, waste from steel industry and
thermal power plants etc.
DEMAND AND SUPPLY

 With skyrocketing demand, thanks to rapid Urbanisation, the world

is fast running out of sand. That makes its extraction extremely
profitable.
 The real danger, however, is illegal mining, worked through the
sand mafia, real estate gangs, fake land registration goons and
operators who exploit sand and rock resources.
THE MAFIA MIGHT

 The Supreme Court in a 2012 judgement has issued clear directions

that sand mining can’t be done without the Central government’s
approval.
 The National Green Tribunal has reiterated the order, restricting
sand mining on riverbeds. But nothing has really worked.
 Instead, there have been a series of mysterious deaths of people
who dared to take on the sand mafia.
COSTS UNPAID

 Deep pits formed on the riverbed of the Pampa, the Manimala rivers
due to unscientific sand-mining have resulted in the loss of as many
lives
 Exploitation of river resources have made alarming changes in the
riverine system, and the very character and structure of these rivers
over the past two decades.
 Many stretches of the Pampa, have become deep dykes with
dangerous undercurrents and whirlpools. People getting accidently
trapped in these whirlpools have become a regular feature in
different parts of the district.
LAND OF SMALL RIVERS

 Kerala's economy has been changing for a while, with share of the
secondary sector increasing exponentially in the Gross State
Domestic Product.
 The biggest driver of this change is an unprecedented construction
boom. And this has led to rising demands for sand.
 The state’s rivers are small in size, less than 150km in length, with a
catchment area of not more than 6200km and limited sand reserve.
 This has led to intensive and indiscriminate mining from small
deposits of sand, damaging river ecosystems, as the recent floods
prove.
IMPACTS CONTINUE

 The overview of sand mining in the Kerala showed how illegal

mining of rivers had played its part in aggravating 2018 flood
situation.
 Reports revealed that several rivers in the state turned dry and water
level adjoining them dropped significantly soon after floods,
despite excess rainfall, which was partly because of excessive
mining and washing away of sand deposits which used to help
recharge ground water.
IMPACTS CONTINUE

 The muddy layer of the riverbed has been exposed along many
stretches of these rivers and the sand lobby is now eyeing the mud
deposits, an essential raw material for the brick industry.
 Many bridges in the three rivers too are facing threat owing to sand-
mining-induced erosion of sand from the close vicinity of their
piers.
 Experts say that 20 to 30-ft high sheets of water roll down the
Pampa, during the rainy season and some of these weak bridges
may not be able to withstand the pressure of a flash flood.