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Far out of sight, well off the first road, a dozen men are ripping open the sides of the Son River. Shirtless, shovel in hand, they have been digging since dawn for Pila Sona – the “yellow gold”: the sand of this river, one of the main tributaries of the Ganges, is known for its excellent quality. Above their heads, the bank drops off steeply for about twenty meters. For 400 rupees (about 5 euros) a day, under the supervision of young men who control the area, they toil at the foot of this sand cliff, which is always in danger of burying them. “I have no other way of supporting my family,” explains Bhugar Rai, 25. If I don’t work here, we will starve. »
Men dig on June 23, 2022 in the state of Bihar, India, on the banks of the Son, a tributary of the Ganges, to recover the “Pila Sona”. MATHIAS DEPARDON FOR “THE WORLD”
On the banks of the Son River in the state of Bihar (India), boats are parked for several kilometers and will soon be filled with this sand on June 23, 2022. MATHIAS DEPARDON FOR “THE WORLD”
Hundreds of long boats wait in the creeks for several kilometers, nibbling at the river bed like hungry mouths. A few hours later, excavators will come to fill their holds. On one of them, a dozen workers declare that they are buying a shipment by pooling their funds. They will resell it a little further away and make a meager profit that needs to be shared. In their daily hustle and bustle, everything becomes more and more complicated.
There is the sinking river level, which makes navigation difficult. There was the Covid-19 pandemic. And now the ban on all mining during the four monsoon months ordered by the Bihar authorities. “We can no longer take sand from the central part of the river, we have to hide from the police for fear,” explains Doman Rai on the boat’s deck. They arrest us and put us in jail, confiscate the vehicles. “This ban hits the poorest,” adds Anil Kumar at his side. There is no factory here, no industry, how can we survive? »
The rural state of Bihar in northeastern India is one of the poorest and most densely populated. As in the rest of the country, the very strong population growth is leading to a construction boom, which in turn is causing the demand for sand to explode. This resource, the second most consumed in the world after water, is the cornerstone of the construction sector. India is the second largest cement producer in the world after China (330 million tons in 2021 vs. 260 million in 2014) and will be number one in terms of population (over 1.4 billion) from 2023. ).
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