Dwarki’s fish basket is barely filled to half, even after a long, hard day of work. A resident of Pichodi village in Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh, she makes a living by selling the fish that she catches every day in the river Narmada. “These days, big fish are not found in the Narmada river. The overall fish population has also gone down significantly, threatening the very source of our livelihood. It has now become difficult to run a household relying on fishing income.”
Dwarki’s family has been fishing in the Narmada for generations. Talking about old times, she says, “Until 15 years ago, we used to get good income from fishing and live comfortably. Earnings from the river were enough to spend on marriages and also some extra expenses at times. There was so much work, specially from December to March, that we would live on the banks of the river to fish. In those days, even taking a break from fishing and visiting home was difficult.” The drastic change in Dwarki’s life tells the story of the exploitation of the river Narmada.
She tells Mongabay-India, that apart from catching fish, she would cultivate watermelons on the sand banks of Narmada. But now because of rampant mining, even that source of income has been destroyed. The erosion in the river ecosystem has adversely impacted the flora and fauna of the region.
Jitendra Manjhi, also a resident of Badwani district, says that the last few years have been witness to major changes in the river. A common sight in the past, the mahseer fish is now rarely found in the river. The mahseer, often referred to as the “queen of the river” because of its colour or the “tiger of the river” because of its size, is among the big fishes found in the Narmada. Mahseer are large-bodied fish, with an average weight of 20 kgs and have reached weights greater than 50 kg and lengths of over 200 centimetres.
The mahseer has been declared as endangered by the Madhya Pradesh Biodiversity Board. The big fish species has also been placed second in the list of 15 endangered fishes of the state. It was granted the status of ‘State Fish” in 2011 due to conservation efforts taken by the board.
Researcher Sriparna Saxena told Mongabay India that over five decades, between 1963 and 2015, mahseer population went down by 76 percent. Saxena, who is conducting a research on conservation and artificial breeding of mahseer in collaboration with the government of Madhya Pradesh, says that at one point Narmada used to have 30% of the mahseer fish population. It has now drastically come down to less than 1%. “The mahseer is a clear water fish, which likes flowing water. Due to the dam and opaqueness of water, Narmada is no longer conducive to the breeding of mahseer, causing a rapid decline in its population.”
According to the Narmada Valley Development Authority, around 40 to 60 kg fish is produced per hectare in the Narmada. As per records maintained by the Madhya Pradesh Fisheries Department, 46 fish species are found in the Narmada. However, it’s not just mahseer that is facing the brunt of ecological changes caused by reckless mining; several other species are also dealing with the threat of extinction and fish species native to the Narmada such as kamankar, ghoghara and gurmuch have also become a rare sight.
Majhi, a fisherman by profession, testifies about the changing ecosystem around the river. He says that until a few years ago, flocks of cranes and herons were regularly seen on the banks of the river. Now these have become a rare sight. A bird named titahri (sandpiper) which was common here is also hardly seen these days.
However, there have been some new sightings in the region. Various types of jalmurgi, which is the common moorhen or water hen (Gallinula chloropus) have been seen around the river. But locals point out that this bird species signal towards the poor quality of water in the Narmada.
Bhopal-based ornithologist Mohammed Khaliq says that like every other creature, birds also need food and safe shelter to flourish and procreate. “Sand mining destroys the many aquatic animals that these birds prey upon. It also reduces the safe shelter for birds and their hatchlings, affecting their very survival,” he adds.
How sand mining is disrupting the natural flow of the river
Talking to Mongabay-India, Medha Patkar, leader of the Save Narmada Movement, underlines the fact that mining threatens the very existence of a river. “Every river has its own ecology where fish, aquatic animals and other creatures that are dependent on these waters live.”
Social worker Vinayak Parihar adds, “Due to sand mining, all tributaries of the Narmada have been turned into rivers that solely depend on rainwater. Tributaries like Dudhi, Tawa and Karjan are drying up due to mining and encroachment. “The day is not far when the Narmada will also meet the same fate.
He further says that rainwater or ground water needs sand to join the flow of the river. “Sand mining has destroyed this process, adversely impacting the flow of the Narmada.” Projects such as big dams, hydroelectric power plants, barrages etc. are considered major contributors in destroying the river ecology. There are as many as 281 small and big dams, and six hydroelectric projects built on the Narmada…