Assam tribal students’ union warns mining is damaging Dima Hasao rivers

The All Dimasa Students’ Union has urged Assam authorities to halt what it describes as unscientific, illegal and excessive riverbed mining in Dima Hasao district. In a complaint to the district’s Chief Conservator of Forests on September 25, the union said commercial extraction of sand, gravel, stone and boulders was taking place in active channels of the Diyung, Mahur, Langting and Jatinga rivers. The union alleged that heavy excavators were being used in the riverbeds, destabilising banks and accelerating soil erosion during the monsoon.

It warned that the activity could threaten National Highway 27, railway lines and settlements vulnerable to landslides. The organisation also raised concerns about aquatic ecosystems. It said siltation and disturbance of riverbeds were destroying breeding grounds, disrupting natural water flows and harming native and endangered fish species.

According to the union, deep extraction could breach the natural water table, reduce groundwater levels and dry up gravity-fed drinking-water streams used by rural communities. It said indigenous households depended on the river systems for fishing, farming and domestic water. Dima Hasao is an ecologically fragile hill region protected under the Sixth Schedule of India’s Constitution.

The union said extraction was taking place in breach of the Assam Minor Mineral Concession Rules, Supreme Court guidelines and National Green Tribunal directions concerning mechanised in-stream mining. The ADSU called for cease-and-desist orders, the seizure of unauthorised machinery and a joint inspection by government departments, the Dima Hasao Autonomous Council, ecological experts and student representatives. It also sought penalties against operators without approved mining plans, valid leases or environmental clearances, and scientific no-mining zones around river bends, bridges and erosion-prone stretches.