Gold mining activities causes the silting up of Riam Kanan dam

The excessive gold and diamond mining activities in Banjar district and its surrounding area in South Kalimantan have caused the silting up of the Riam Kanan dam. If this situation continued unabated, it could disrupt irrigation system for rice fields in the area, according to the head of the Banjar administration's environmental office, Farid Soufian Madar.

Farid noted that uncontrolled mining activities in the area had caused not only the silting up of the Riam Kanan dam but also destroyed the landscape and preserved forests in the area with the cutting down of trees for the mining activities.

If such a dire situation is not tackled soon, Farid said, it would affect irrigation system in Banjar district.

"Eventually, water supplies for local water companies in Banjarmasin, Banjarbaru and Martapura will also be disrupted," he said.

To prevent such a situation into getting worse, Farid suggested that the district administration form an integrated task force to socialize the impacts of illegal mining activities and rehabilitate the environment destroyed by the mining activities.

"Besides socializing the importance of protecting the environment, the task force should also be empowered to take stern measures (against violators)," he said.

Farid also proposed to the Banjar administration to make it in order uncontrolled gravel mining activities in Awang Bangkal village in Karang Intan subdistrict.

He noted that the administration needed to form groups of traditional miners and find them the right locations for mining, and to form a partnership between mining firm PD Aneka Usaha Barakat (UAB) with local people to prevent conflicts between them. (*)