Effects of Sand Mining on Riverine Ecosystem and Otter Habitat in Kudli, Tungabhadra River

Abstract

The Tungabhadra River in Karnataka has a significant amount of sand mining activity. With a growing demand for sand reflecting rapid urbanization and population growth, regulation has proven difficult leading to exploitation with serious environmental implications. Sand mining is a generic term referring to the process of extraction of sand from rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. Illegal and unregulated sand mining would threaten the biodiversity of the river, and such alarming events were seen in almost all parts of the river Tungabhadra. The Tungabhadra River hosts India’s only otter conservation reserve, to conserve vulnerable species of smooth-coated otter. Furthermore, the TB River has significant habitat for a viable otter population along the entire length of the river. A study was conducted from June 2017 to January 2020 in 10 randomly selected stations with 31 sites. During the survey, we came across many threats to the otters, viz., pollution conflicts with fishermen, habitat deterioration by human activity, and so on. Among these factors, sand mining stands out to be the most disastrous to the survival of otter’s habitat. Among the 31 sampled sites, only 1 site was chosen called Kudli, which is examined, studied, and discussed in this paper.