SHILLONG: Meghalaya is renowned across the world for some of its unique caves and is also home to other geological wonders, but rampant mining poses a serious threat to their very existence.
It may be mentioned that evidence from the stalagmite taken from Mawmluh cave in Sohra showed distinct rings when sliced in half eventually leading geologists to classify a distinct age in Earth’s history — Meghalayan Age-which began 4200 years ago.
The age was officially ratified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy in July 2018.
An official of the Geological Survey of India, North Eastern Region (GSI NER) told The Shillong Times that though mining is required heritage sites should be preserved which is possible.
The official said it depends on the location of the mine and if the rock which bears the signature of the heritage is mined out, nothing will be left for future science.
“Sustainable mining is very much required for the state’s economy to be healthy. At the same time the geo-heritage sites should not be harmed. These are not renewable and are rare too. In India, we have only 36 geological monuments declared by the GSI,” the official said adding that mining companies, government and public should extend help for this cause.
Stating that mining involves large areas, the official said that miners can steer clear of the geo-heritage sites.
Citing an example, the official said the residents of Therriaghat, Sohbar were unaware of the geological importance and attempted to construct a restaurant over one such site but after the intervention of the GSI, they agreed to preserve it.
Echoing the government official is renowned cave explorer Brian Daly Kharpran.
He said, “Caves are destroyed by illegal mining. There are caves which no longer exist due to limestone mining. Coal mining is the same. The sulphuric acid from the coal mines gets inside the caves destroying the species which are endemic. The documentation of such species is important to better understand the evolution of life.”
Till date, 1700 caves have been recorded in Meghalaya, out of which some have been explored and mapped.
Stating that when it comes to caves, Meghalaya is unique, he said that caves are scientific resource and provide insights to scientists be they climatologists, geologists or palaeontologists. He pointed out that there are treasures in caves which scientists can study.
“It is too dark inside the caves… the species do not have eyes and they have evolved. The species are so unique and so rare and endemic that what you find in one cave cannot be found in another. Some of these are documented,” he said.
He spoke about the discovery of a blind cave fish in Jaintia Hills which is confirmed to be the largest in the world.
Kharpran said that the government and residents should understand the importance of caves and how to protect them by not allowing mining activities.
He observed that though mining cannot be stopped but it should be done far from the caves so as not to divert the water in the caves and destroy the species. “We have to be aware of the environment inside caves,” he said.
