The IEE report mentions that stones and sand will be excavated up to 1.20 meters. However, the contractors have dug trenches up to 5 meters deep using excavators in the Kaligandaki River.
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The district-level monitoring committee has concluded that the Kaligandaki River has been overexploited. The IEE report found that the river has been overexploited and has made it ugly, and has recommended action against those who have exploited it, said Amar Bahadur Thapa, head of the District Coordination Committee.
The committee has also written to Baglung Municipality to stop extracting additional materials from the monitored area. Ten days ago, the District Coordination Committee, administration, police, and the municipality, along with concerned bodies, found that the Kaligandaki River has been overexploited in Kalakhola of Baglung Municipality-13 during a random monitoring. A team of technicians conducted a study and found that the river has been made ugly by creating pits up to 5 meters deep in the river.
The IEE report mentions that stones and sand will be excavated up to 1.20 meters deep. However, contractors have used excavators in the Kaligandaki River and created pits up to 5 meters deep. A letter has been sent to immediately stop the excessive exploitation of the Kalakhola by the Prateek Nirman Sewa, and the company has been asked to dump the sand it has accumulated and auction it.
After receiving a complaint about excessive exploitation in Kaligandaki, the Ministry of Home Affairs had also urged the administration to immediately stop it and investigate. The committee officials said that since the letter was received, action will be taken against other companies involved in exploitation within a few days.
Contractors have used excavators inside the river and made the natural beauty ugly. Regular exploitation has been found to have been done without the administration's knowledge. 'We are also studying other places, action will be taken against those who exploit,' said Chief District Officer Krishna Prasad Acharya, 'Management is being done in such a way that there is no shortage of essential construction materials in the market.'
Baglung Municipality Chief Administrative Officer Ishwori Sharma said that the letter from the monitoring committee has been received. According to the letter, those who have been doing illegal mining on the riverbank, including the Prateek Nirman Service, have been informed to stop mining. He also said that the revenue from the sale of sand dumped on the banks based on the monitoring committee report will be collected. In Kalakhola, the municipality has been accused of excavating four to five times more than the specified amount for a contract of 3.4 million rupees and damaging the river flow.
Acharya said that since such types of river exploitation increase the risk of natural disasters, immediate monitoring has been ordered to stop the exploitation. Engineer Sobin Gharti said that when the river is exploited by changing its course, there is a risk of flooding and landslides during the rainy season. In Kalakhola of Baglung Municipality-13, the Prateek Nirman Service has been found to have exploited excessively, while in Maldhunga of Banpa-1, the Vidhi Nirman Service has also been found to have exploited. Monitoring is also being carried out in other places and after receiving everyone's report, a collective action process will be taken, said Durga Prasad Sharma, Information Officer of the District Coordination Committee. Conservation activists have repeatedly raised their voices to stop the exploitation of the Kaligandaki River as it has religious significance. In the contracted places, the contractor has exploited the river indiscriminately and extracted materials against the standards, while in places where the contract was not signed, materials are being stolen overnight.
