Yamuna mafias alive and killing
ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES Fresh evidence shows illegal sand mining, groundwater extraction goes on in the river floodplains despite court orders
detected at least 85 cases of sand mining in the past six months between Wazirabad Bridge and Kalindi Kunj barrage — a stretch of 25 km.
The modus operandi is, however, different near Batla House area where local youths take the help of horses and mules trained to transport the sand in bags to a fixed location.
“They are very hard to intercept as they flee just leaving behind the animals. The locals refuse to talk about it,” said one of the guards, requesting anonymity.
These gangs are active even during the day just below the DND flyover. They dig out sand which is loaded on mules. The animal trudges towards Batla House where other gang members unload the sand and send the animal back to bring back more.
“The floodplain is a repository of water which helps to maintain the water flow even during lean season and helps to recharge groundwater. Rampant sand mining from the floodplains would destroy the hydrological balance of the river,” said CR Babu, an ecologist who was a member of the expert committee set up by the NGT to assess damage of floodplains after an Art of Living event in 2016.
GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION
Thousands of gallons of groundwater are being extracted everyday with the help of submersible pumps from the Yamuna floodplains — one of the few groundwater recharging zones left in Delhi — to supply to some the hotels in Delhi.
“As the floodplains become desolate at night, the gangs usually install the pumps and borewells in these places. It is very hard to locate them as they are often covered during the day,” said Ramesh Singh in-charge of one of the patrolling teams.
“Armed gang members guard the place to keep away intruders. We have been threatened a number of times,” said Ramesh Singh in-charge of one of the patrolling teams.
In January this year, the NGT had ordered the Delhi government to seal all unauthorised borewells in the national Capital within three months. But since September, at least six cases were detected by the patrolling guards from areas such as Sarai Kale Khan and Chilla Khadar where water was being extracted from the floodplains. A few were stopped but the gangs returned soon changing their location.
“Tankers supply this water to some of hotels and hospitals, preliminary enquiry has revealed. The water is usually used in the washrooms and gardens,” said Singh.
A senior Central Ground Water Board official said in Delhi the approval for extracting ground water is given only through a committee led by the district magistrate in charge of the district where the applicant wants the connection. The rest are illegal.
A report tabled in the Lok Sabha in March states that 56% of the tehsils in Delhi have over-exploited the ground water resource making the national Capital the third most ‘over exploited’ groundwater states in India after Rajasthan and Punjab.
It also states that water table in several parts of Delhi have gone down eight metres below the ground level.
“Unregulated, unscientific and excessive extraction of ground water from the floodplains may destroy the only potential and pristine aquifer of the city. Extraction of water may lead to leaching of polluted water from the river or it may pave the way for the underlying layer of saline water to come up and spoil the aquifer,” said Shashank Shekhar, assistant professor of geology at Delhi University. Sand mining disturbs the river’s hydrological balance
Mining affects the river’s capability to recharge water during the monsoon
Mining kills the microbes which help purify the river water Debris prevents the water from percolating into the ground, hitting the river’s ability to recharge groundwater
This also plays havoc with the biodiversity of the floodplains. Dumping may also lead to flood in the neighbouring areas Unregulated extraction of groundwater may destroy the pristine aquifer of the city
It may lead to leaching of polluted water from the river or underlying saline water spoiling the aquifer