Ban put on stone and sand quarrying at Sekmai river

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, May 10: Sekmai Protection Committee (SPC) and Advanced Women Society (AWS) Awang Sekmai have effectively banned any form of stone and sand quarrying at Sekmai river  following unprecedented negative impact on the river due to such projects.
Showing the present condition of Sekmai river to media persons, SPC vice president Meihoubam Manoj said that SPC and AWS had banned quarrying at Sekmai river since 2013 and on the same year, the two associations even filed a petition to the High Court of Manipur to look into the matter as well.
Last year, the High Court directed immediate halt of any quarrying works in the river and it may be mentioned that in 2013, the National Green Tribunal had also instructed a similar approach to be taken regarding the Sekmai river, he said.
The said body had even warned against any quarrying works in the river without any prior permission from the Environment Directorate  under the Manipur Flood Plain Zoning Act, 1978
However, despite all these rules and regulations, rampant stone and sand quarrying were conducted at Sekmai river during the last few years, he alleged adding that in the past people resorted to manual labour but now, the work was done using heavy machinery and earth movers, which has led to rapid destruction of the river.
Reiterating the ban on all kinds of quarrying works in the river, he urged any individual or party concerned to first take necessary permission from the authority concerned before resorting to any quarrying works.
If any quarrying work is conducted without going through the necessary process, the involved parties will have to bear the resulting consequences, he warned.