Page 96 - Sugam Sarita
P. 96
Thousands of indigenous, forest-dwelling tribes in the North East,
Himalayas, and Western Ghats rely completely on these streams
for sustenance. Many creeks and marginal stretches are revered and
are protected vigorously by local organizations. Today, in Rivers of
India, aquatic biodiversity and river-dependent communities are
facing major problems such as breakwaters, toxins, intrusion on a
person’s territory, extraction of sand, desertification, and substandard
treatment. Hence, these factors are affecting facets of rivers namely in
the following ways:
• Ecological factors
• Socio-cultural factors
• Spiritual factors
• tourism-related factors
• commercial factors
More than 10.8 million people are relying on riverine fisheries which
are impairing and declining at an appalling rate. Large embankments
are planned in and around, environment-friendly perceptive sites to
safeguard areas. Examples like Ramsar, World Heritage Sites, artificial
structures enclosing a self-contained ecosystem, sacred regions,
community preserved areas. Native people are mostly affected by
these and many have been opposing and sending indications to
The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to cancel these
detrimental projects. Particularly, in the North Eastern State of
Sikkim, a waterfall of dams is eradicating brooks and areas which
are regarded sacred by many tribes and religions. Nevertheless,
dams are getting consent, violating communal and ecological
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