Several organizations from Assam and Meghalaya, who are angry about the ongoing illegal sand mining that has endangered their lives and means of subsistence, met and staged a protest rally on Saturday to voice their displeasure with the government’s lack of response to their grievances. The Mothers’ Union of the Assam and Meghalaya border region presided over the conference, which aimed to end the threat that has seriously confused their lives. The gathering took place in the playground in Nokmakundi village, which is located on the boundary between Assam and Meghalaya.
In addition to seizing the sand mining equipment from the mining site, the authorities had already taken action against the unlawful miners. But a year later, the same thing happened again, and on May 16, 2024, the gaonburhas of the villages close to the unlawful sand mining location filed a joint public protest about it. Following an investigation, the extraction was halted for three months at Nokmakundi. At Kalikapara, however, ille-gal sand mining is still going on, according to Marak. “Last but not least, illicit sand mining at Nokmakundi has resumed since the first week of this month,” Marak continued. In the meantime, the ecology is being negatively impacted by the illicit sand mining in the Dudhnoi River. By generating soil erosion, water pollution, and sound pollution, it is upsetting the ecological equilibrium. According to Marak, they would meet with the Assamese chief minister and the relevant ministers to request that the mining be halted.