Company Name : Generic Source : Express india

 At a seminar organised by the Pune Union of Working Journalists (PUWJ), 2001 Ramon Magsaysay Award (Community Leadership) winner Rajendra Singh spoke extensively on ‘River Pollution in India’.

He talked about the increasing rate of encroachments over the last few years, causing droughts and floods on a large scale. He cited the examples of rivers like Devnadi in Pune and of the water there being unfit to drink, the encroachments made by real estate builders and heaps of sewage found there. With respect to Ramnadi, he lamented about the river having turned into a nullah, causing floods around; while the Pashan lake having almost transformed into an island due to its reducing length.

“In the process of restructuring the lake, instead of the word ‘development’, now ‘reform’ is being used,” he said, referring to the politicians and civic officials claiming to be changing the city. “The challenge for the country is whether the rate of development and rise of the GDP is telling the real story of the country. What are the reasons for the index of happiness to go down with the rise in GDP?” he asked.

In his view, the contribution of water being 4.5 per cent in the total GDP is a serious issue begging to be looked into. “Unfortunately, there are no rivers left flowing in any city of India. The rivers need to be kept clean, only then can people avoid water-borne diseases.”

He also stressed on an active role of the media in this regard. He pointed to the lack of river topics found in the school curriculum and the need to reform the education system. “Pollution needs to be made an issue in the elections, so as to bend the politicians towards the seriousness of it,” he said.