Coal Industry issues and concerns in India-
Environmental consequence-Coal mines especially the open cast mines create the problem of coal dust. Chemicals used in the dynamite find their way into the surface water and ground water, thus polluting the sources.
Coal theft-Mostly in washery. The Parliamentary standing committee on coal & steel highlighted in 2012 that actual production of coal is 20% more than what is reported to the government.
Low productivity of labour-due to lack of training and inefficient mining technique and equipments.The productivity of Indian coal mines especially underground mines is very low.It is 0.8 tonnes per man-shift where the world average is 8 tonnes per man-shift.CIL has 60% of its workforce, engaged in underground mining operation that gives only 10% of the output. In case of open cast mines, the productivity stands around 10 tonnes per man-shift which is no way comparable to productivity in countries like USA where it is 69 tonnes per man-shift.
Obsolete mining method- The mining technique used in India is Room and Pillar method. It involves extracting ore from rooms within a mine, leaving behind supportive pillars that may contain valuable ores. It has to be replaced by Longwall mining method through which we can extract valuable coal even from pillars, it requires fewer miners inside the actual mine, it also reduces the chances of injury.
Poor labour safety and labour health- The CAG in 2010 reported that only 8% of the workers are given health check ups as against mandated 100% . The problem is more acute in case of illegal mines. Substandard safety equipments are given to coal miners due to which they suffer from respiratory diseases.
Poor quality of Coal availabile to us- The Gondwana coal is not a high grade coal because of lesser amount of carbon and presence of volatile matter. Also coal washing which is a necessary exercise is not always done because of inadequate number of coal washeries.
Inability to tap coal bed methane- This not only lead to a loss of valuable energy resource. But also may be the cause of accidental fires as we can witness in Jharia coal mines.
Not following the norms while Mine Closure-There are some standard operating procedures that has to be followed before a mine is shut down viz. land filling in case of open cast mines and sand filling in case of underground mines. These procedures have been violated in many cases.
Inability to stop Rat hole mining-It leads to landslides beacuse it is done in an unscientific way. It is illegal. Many people's livelihood are dependent on it, rehabilitating them would be difficult, hence government are reluctant to curb it with heavy hands.
Fishing industry issues and concerns-
It is an allied agricultural activity.
Fishing is a very important activity in temperate areas. Though tropical countries like China, India, Indonesia are the larger producers, but per capita fish catch is very high for the temperate regions. The reasons are-
-Temperate areas have cooler water which is suitable for the growth of Planktons.
-Many of the temperate countries don't have climate fit for agriculture throughout the year, i.e growing season is very short. In this case fishing emerges as an important economic activity.
-In cooler climate, fishes stay fresh for a longer period of time.
-The temperate areas have softwood trees which are important for lumbering . The softwood trees are used for construction of fishing vessels.
Note- Planktons grow well where cold and warm currents meet. Up welling systems—where cold, nutrient-rich water from the ocean’s depth rise and mix with warm surface water — is the most conducive place for plankton growth.
Consequences of fisheries industry- (BCDG)
Bottom Trawling- An industrial method in which enormous nets are dragged along the sea floor, decimating everything in their path from fish to marine mammals to coral reefs.
Bycatch- refers to all the forms of marine life caught unintentionally while catching other fish.
Cyanide fishing- is a method of collecting live fish mainly for use in aquariums or selling it fresh, which involves spraying a sodium cyanide mixture into the desired fish's habitat in order to stun the fish. The practice hurts not only the target population, but also many other marine organisms, including coral reefs.
Dynamite fishing- In coral reefs, reconstruction of the damaged habitats can take decades.
Ghost fishing- is the result of nets and other fishing materials that are accidentally abandoned in the sea. These nets continue to senselessly trap fish and other aquatic organisms which die of suffocation after struggling to get to the surface to breathe.
Interlinking of rivers-
Pros-
-Irrigation facilities can be improved and dependence on monsoon could be decreased.
-Control of floods and droughts.
-Hydroelectricity
-Water navigation.
Cons-
-Affect the ecological health of the region. There would be a decrease in downstream flows resulting in reduction of fresh water inflows into the seas seriously jeopardizing aquatic life. Freshwater supply inflows is also necessary for the protection of the mangrove wetland ecosystems in the Sundarban.
-Large scale submergence of forests.
-The project would lead to displacement of large number of people, rehabilitating whom will be a major concern.
-Inter-state water dispute.
-It would impact our relationship with Bangladesh as Bangladesh being a lower riparian state would never agree for this project.
-Creation of large storage system can also lead to Reservoir-Induced Seismicity.
Solution-
Instead of creating large storage systems, it would be better to create storage systems at the decentralised level, which would not only be cheaper, but the locals would have greater authority over its functioning. Traditional systems like 'Johads' , 'Surangams', 'Kundis' etc can be created.
