KIMIN, 27 Mar: The Lichi-Cher Ranganadi Project Affected Area Management Committee has strongly objected to the indiscriminate dumping of soil and debris on the right bank of the Panior river, “in the area from Potin to Possa,” by the highway authority.
In a complaint letter to the Kimin ADC, the committee said that, “as per the environmental guidelines, neither the highway authority nor contractors can dump massive soil or earth materials on riverbanks or into rivers.”
It expressed apprehension that the dumped soil would have serious environmental impact on the downstream areas “as it will result in siltation in the low-lying areas, affecting Lichi, Par Lichi, Upper Sher, Lower Sher, Komaseki, Upper Jumi and Bada villages in Kimin circle.”
The committee stated that “heavy siltation will make the villages vulnerable to flashfloods, soil erosion, which may destroy human habitations and agriculture fields, causing untold miseries to the dwellers.”
It further stated that “the dumped soil will be carried to Ranganadi (Panior) river in large-scale during monsoon season, and thus will pollute the water,” and urged the ADC to intervene and coordinate with the authorities concerned to remove the debris from the riverbank near the dam area within a month, failing which, it said, it would launch a democratic movement to have its demand met.
