Gravel mined from river beds is a major ingredient in reinforced concrete buildings. The prosperity brought about by expatriate Malayalis has spread the idea of concrete buildings as the ultimate abode. The old clay tile and lime houses have given way to brick and concrete. As a result, a lorry-load of sand (about five tonnes) fetches as much as Rs 1,500 in some areas of Kerala.

Two of the biggest rivers in Kerala, Periyar and Pampa, account for about 1 lakh tonnes of sand mined daily. It is estimated that last year alone, 11 million tonnes of sand was mined from thePampa, sinking the river bed 2.5 metres below the sea level. The Periyar river, the epicentre of Kerala's cultural and economic life, is rapidly dying, say experts who question the wisdom of continued official patronage to sand-mining.

Indiscriminate sand mining in the Periyar has been drawing media attention for over a decade now. A peoples' committee was formed to save Periyar as early as in 1987. But here's the tale of the goose that lays golden eggs. Periyar supports eight village panchayats which earn over Rs 1 crore each from auctioning sand-mining rights every year.

No wonder the river bed has sunk about seven metres. From 151 spots along the 244-km stretch of the river, 45,000 tonnes of sand is mined daily by nearly 2,000 people. The Periyar supports a catchment area of 5,398 sq km and yields 11,607 million cubic metres of water annually. But scientists are alarmed at the rate of sand mining that paves the way for sinking the river bed and intrusion of salinity into the river.

According to RSooryamoorthy, a lecturer in sociology at Loyola College of Social Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram, the Pampa river bed has sunk 1.2 metres between 1987 and 1992. The mining-intensive stretch of the river yields about 1.75 million tonnes of sand every year whereas the annual silt deposit in the river is just 33,000 tonnes.

The fate of other rivers in the State like the Bharathapuzha and the Chaliayr too is similar. The Bharathappuzha river basin has a total area of 6,186 sq km and supports a population of over 5 million people. However, uninterrupted sand-mining continues to pose a threat to the river.

According to studies, water requirement of the people in the 10 river basins in the State has increased 222 per cent during the last 44 years. However, taking into consideration the geographical peculiarities of Kerala, fresh water resources may run dry if no care is taken now. Though Kerala has 5.4 per cent of the total fresh water potential in the country, most of this water flows into the sea. The Statereceives an annual rainfall of 3,000 mm (11,70,000 cubic metres) on an average. But most of this quickly drains into the Arabian sea.

The fate of 16-odd irrigation projects in the State depends on the health of the rivers. Similarly, industrial units in the State too depend on the rivers for fresh water. Considering these factors, the State Government has come forward to set up committees to regulate sand mining in the major rivers. However, no one wants to be seen killing the goose that lays the golden egg.