The river flowing from India to Pakistan's Nowshera district has changed the fortunes of the people. A large amount of gold is being found in the river here, due to which there is a competition among gold miners here. A large number of people are engaged in digging the river.
Nowshera, located in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was counted among the backward areas of the country, but today there is a race to find gold in this area, which passes through here. The entire area of Nowshera district from Kund to Nizampur has been mined for gold on a large scale. Teams of diggers are working on the river banks till the British-era railway bridge connecting Nowshera to Attock in Punjab. The greed for gold in the Indus River has turned a deserted area into a center of a race for mining.
Finding Gold in River
According to a report in Pakistani newspaper Dawn, diggers search for gold in the depths of the river all day. The workers take out their buckets from the soil and stones and then try to extract gold particles from this sand using a gold sluice mat. Due to this mining, posting in Nizampur Police Station has become very attractive these days. The miners are also paying a good price to the workers working here. 1000 to 1500 rupees are being given to a laborer.
Gold mining changed fortunes
In this area, the water of the Indus river meets the muddy stream coming from Kabul. Placer gold mining in the Indus and Kabul rivers has transformed the area economically. Quoting a local youth, Dawn reported that earlier mining in the river was done on a small scale, but in the last few months it has turned into a big operation. A large number of diggers keep sinking their buckets in the river bed day and night.
Gold reserves worth Rs 800 billion
The gold reserves in the Indus river caught people's attention earlier this year when a report came out claiming gold reserves worth Rs 800 billion near Attock. This claim was made by former Punjab Mines and Minerals Minister Ibrahim Hassan Murad in a statement on social media. He made this claim based on the report of the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP).
Threat to river environment
Environmentalists are worried about the boom in placer gold mining. They say that aquatic life is being affected by excessive digging in the river bed. Locals claim that the use of mercury in extracting gold has damaged the river's ecosystem. Fishermen have complained of fewer fish in the river since large-scale mining began.