Bhutan mining hurts Bengal, says minister
12 December 2008
A West Bengal minister yesterday said faulty mining practices in Bhutan caused flooding in Bengal, especially during summer.
Speaking by phone, Manohar Tirkey, the Minister of State for PWD, said the problem which he had raised earlier this year remained. He said that every year, there were floods in Bengal owing to the mining. “We want them to follow a scientific mining procedure.”
A National Environment Commission (NEC) official said the NEC has not received any official complaint from India. Nonetheless, the issue of Bhutanese dolomite mining impacting neighbouring Indian states had been raised in border district coordination meetings, but “there has not been any further discussion on it,” said the official.
Dorji Wangda, the Director of the Department of Geology and Mines, said that the mining area was geologically fragile. “There are two thrust zones in the area due to which, in the rainy season, the soil is washed down even if there are no mining activities,” he said.
He added that it was a natural process and mining contributed to the problem, but minimally. Only one dolomite mine is operating in Pugli, Gomtu. It is owned by Jigme Dolomite Mining Company, which has been running for the last three years.
The CEO, Sonam Tobgay, said, “Before we took over the mine, there was a lot of pocket mining in the region causing problems because of which the government decided to hand over the mining to one owner.”
He said that now, all the other mines are closed and reclamation is underway. He added that mining in Pugli is done in the most scientific and mechanised way and there is no environmental damage. “A lot of studies have been done and we even submit our mining plans every year,” said Sonam.
The Hindustan Times reported a year ago on the 16th Border Districts Coordination Meeting held in Darjeeling in May, 2007, where a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government of India and the Royal Government of Bhutan.
It talked about the adverse impacts of dolomite mining on Jalpaiguri district’s wildlife and fragile ecology. People living in border areas had been complaining about dolomite mining in Bhutan. They said that the extraction was causing soil erosion, raising river beds due to silt deposition and abetting floods in the river Toorsa and its tributaries.
Experts felt that the mining was also causing problems with drinking water and irrigation because the rising carbonate concentration produced water hardness, affecting soil fertility. It was also decided during the meeting that a committee comprising the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri and the districts heads of Samtse and Chukha dzongkhags would look into the environmental problems.
The Statesman News Service this month quoted the State Minister for Development of Backward Classes, Jogesh Barman, and the Minister of State for Public Works Department, Manohar Tirkey, asking the Uttarbanga Unnayan Parishad to solve the problem.
By Pushkar Chhetri
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you shouldn’t believe everything you hear. Flooding in the eastern himalayas and the foothills is caused by changes in intensity of rainfall patterns over the last decade. The mystery is why there is so much noise from our neighbours on scientific mining in bhutan when rainfall patterns is to blame. Earlier the noise was on uncontrolled deforestation in bhutan which was disproved. now the excuse seems to have changed. whats going on?
the above issue is not only refacleted to water flood, but also refalact to issue of minor enviroment cause and eaffect, in one way there are many minning in bhutan, i totally agree with indian part, and on other hand minnig income dose not help much in gross, it gose to suden company , so why gov issue the permit befour looking in to mater seriouesly, there is loop hole whare goverment belive in document, and not the relity, when one minning open in my village, many villager finger print is dublicate, bhuatn enviroment department dose not do dna, of finger print of villlager, so what we can do with crupt business minded people , are desire to run a house and life , after harvestting our eco systerm, wake up this is waht i feel the truth from my heart,
i totally agree with indian counter part, we have lots of coruption on this issue, when mining is propssed it has to be start from village, so business people trick on goverment worker providing fake finger print, that is how mining is approved, there is no 2 thought or re exam of finger print , or review of cause and eafect of eco systerm, for eg many minning income dose not help in gross, but it dose to pvt company , when eaffect comes it will eaffect to over all village,so did department of minning and enviroment has dna of finger print in there office when they approved the site ,truthfull ans is no,
didt they thought of save the catchment of area, ans is no,
did this athority compare with income made from hydro and thought for long run in come wich gose to gross, ans is no,
so it is not a wise to open many minning for pelden drukpa feture,
Mr. Thinley do u think that the minister who brought out this issue knows nothing??? Please lets be wise in commenting, we bhutanese have the habbit of not accepting the dark site of ourself when it is revealed. The sense of am always right is pulling us behind. I being a Mining graduate agree with the issue cited. The sense of scientific mining doesnot click the miners…sud be realized.