VARANASI: A committee, constituted by the state government, will start studying the threat being posed to the scenic ghats along Ganga due to heightening sand dunes of tortoise sanctuary on the opposite bank.
The committee comprising experts from Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC) Patna, National Wildlife Institute, irrigation department and the district magistrate of Varanasi had to submit its study report to the state government in a month for forwarding it to the Central Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court and Union government.
District magistrate Pranjal Yadav, other experts and river scientists had gone to Lucknow for a presentation session before chief secretary on the issue of tortoise sanctuary, disclosed this decision of state government to TOI on Sunday. For the past several years, local experts, river scientists, boatmen and different organization were trying to draw the attention of authorities towards the adverse impact of tortoise sanctuary like the increasing height of sand bed on the opposite bank of the river, which started posing threat for the ghats.
Taking serious note of the ground realities, the district administration formed a committee comprising engineers and officials of different departments, including Central Water Commission, PWD, irrigation, Varanasi Municipal Corporation, Varanasi Development Authority, forest and also experts from civil engineering department of Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, in 2013. The committee studied the problems generated by the tortoise sanctuary spread in a 7-km stretch of Ganga between Ramnagar Fort and Malviya Bridge. This stretch of Ganga was declared as Tortoise Sanctuary on December 21, 1989 under the Ganga Action Plan launched in 1986. The Wildlife (Conservation) Act 1972 restricts sand mining or any other activity that violates its norm in the sanctuary area. It resulted in increasing the depth of river on the ghat side and erosion under the stone steps of sprawling ghats that poses a serious threat to historic buildings.
To save the ghats, the people here are demanding to shift the sanctuary beyond the city limits. After the committee finalized its report, the DM had met the chief minister recently. Order was given to give a presentation before chief secretary and get the report examined by the chief wildlife warden, State Wildlife Advisory Board and National Wildlife Board. The meeting of State Wildlife Advisory Board in this regard is expected soon.
