PERNEM: Seeing is believing. If reports about the illegal extraction of sand from the Tiracol River were alarming, Herald reporters who travelled way to the site of destruction, saw for themselves the fallout and ill effects of sand mining on the lives of the villagers of Ugvem.
But the resistance from the people is equally strong and they have decided to fight the battle on the ground and in the courts. Sadly, they feel that they are in this fight alone with the government not on the people’s side.
“Police are giving reports of nil sand extraction activity in the river basin at Ugvem when on the ground; thousands of cubic metres of sand are extracted every day. When we gave the police live evidence of sand extraction activity, police said they only saw canoes and not the sand. Canoes from Porascadem side and Torxem side come to extract sand at Ugvem”, Uday Mahale a villager said.
Ramkrishna Shet Teli, a farmer said, “When the labourers engaged by the illegal sand extractors are confronted by the villagers they abuse the locals and pelt them with liquor bottles.”
Alleging that these sand extractors are backed by godfathers, Teli said, “When people from other States working as labourers act like goons then definitely one can say that they are backed by people in power including the government machinery.”
The other villagers said, “We are tired of calling the coastal police because they never respond.”
“This activity is going on for the last 10 to 15 years. For the last, 10 years we have written several letters, complaints and submitted memorandums. However, the authorities never reacted which forced us to approach the court. Shockingly, though the matter is already in the court, the sand extraction continues,” they said.
The width of the Tiracol River at Ugvem has increased from 60 metres to 160 metres in last 10 years.
The villagers took the Herald reporters around to show the destruction sand extraction from the river has caused. Due to the extensive sand mining, the riverbed which was initially 60 metres has now gotten deeper to 160 metres and counting. Due to the rampant sand mining coconut plantation and vegetable farming has been affected.
Shet Teli lamented, and other farmers echoed this, “Coconut, mango and other plantations have got completely damaged due to land sliding. Each year, at least 5 metres of land gets washed away in the river along with the plantation. If this continues, then soon the river will touch the highway. We want an immediate stop to this. We want a protection wall to save the remaining land from destruction.”
“It’s high time that government takes strict action otherwise the government and its machinery presently turning a blind eye will be responsible for the destruction of our village. If the government wants us to survive then it will have to act,”, Uday Mahale said.
