BAH (AGRA) | Dec 04, 2016: More than 85% of the total global population of gharials, which are critically endangered, live in the Chambal region. However, they are facing a major threat from the organised sand mafia. Jeffrey W Lang, researcher from the University of Minnesota and senior scientific advisor for the Gharial Ecology Project, who has been doing a study on them said illegal mining, coupled with irregular flow of water from dams in Rajasthan has caused high mortality among these amphibians, pushing them closer to extinction.
"There are just 2,500 gharials left in the world, of which 2,000 alone live in the National Chambal Sanctuary. The Chambal gharials are likely the only wild population that continues to live and thrive in an intact, large riverine habitat, where conditions are still favourable. However, this unique group of crocodiles is under threat from various sides, with sand mining the most persistent and the most damaging," Lang told TOI.
Besides water extraction and dam proposals, the most persistent threats are illegal fishing and sand mining. In the past several years, there has been an exponential increase in "industrial scale" sand mining on the extensive sand banks and bars, primarily in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. "Sand miners have become bolder and they are even ready to kill if challenged. Earlier they used to run on seeing us, but now they stay there do mining in front of us using JCBs," Lang added.
The researcher said that mining has become an everyday affair between September and June, and stops only during monsoon. "At a communal nest site where one of the gharials nested last season (2015), sand mining was happening 24/7 during the pre-monsoon months, with 35-40 tractors and wagons plying up and down," Lang said.
(Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/)