Balewa, Aug 15 : The district coordination committees (DCCs) of Baglung, Parbat, Myagdi, and Mustang districts in Dhaulagiri have stepped up a collective campaign to check rampant encroachment in the Kaligandaki River.
In order to implement the apex
court interim order to prevent the illegal extraction of pebbles, sands, and
boulders from the river, the district coordination committees have charted out
a shared plan to this effect.
The Supreme Court came up with the
interim order acting on a writ petition demanding a halt in the implementation of the Kaligandaki River Diversion Project. The apex court ordered the district
coordination committees not to allow the continuation of any activities in the
river.
The district coordination
committees took the initiative to implement the apex court order naming 40
institutions including the committees and local levels as defendants.
A joint meeting hosted by the Baglung
district coordination committee decided to put collective efforts to check the unlawful extraction and sale of river-based materials of Kaligandaki.
"It was impossible to stop
encroachment propping up in the Kaligandaki River alone. So, we are mooting to
place joint efforts to that end", shared DCC Parbat Chair Bishnuram
BK.
In the meeting, DCC Baglung Chair
Amar Bahadur Thapa said, "It is our responsibility to preserve and utilize
the river-based products. We are stick to regulate the extraction of river
materials in a way that it would not affect the natural structure and status of the
river".
Several constraints including legal
mandate have surfaced in booking those involved in Kaligandaki encroachment, he
said the DCC's role is limited to carrying out monitoring functions which limits the
mechanism to check illegal extraction of river products.
The meeting has decided to request
the Gandaki Province to swiftly introduce a law in this regard.
The joint meeting
also decided to draw the attention of the authorities concerned about the
construction of an embankment to protect vulnerable populations residing nearby the
Kaligandaki Watershed Area in Manang and Mustang.