Pathetic State Of Indian Rivers Highlighted On World Rivers Day

Agra, Sep 27 (TNA) World Rivers Day, celebrated on Sunday, highlighted the sad state of rivers not only in India but in several parts of the world. “Industrial pollution, and citizens callous apathy towards natural resources had compounded the problem,” green activists said.

In the Taj city, members of the River Connect Campaign demanded that the BJP government in New Delhi should draw up a national rivers policy and constitute a central rivers authority. “ For long we have callously neglected our water bodies, not realising the importance of clean water which is basic to life,” said environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya.

The river Yamuna, from Delhi to Agra, presents the most dismal failure of governmental efforts at a cost of more than several thousand crore rupees, over the past three decades. The Modi government had made pompous announcements of cleaning up the rivers as a priority. His minister Nitin Gadkari had even promised a ferry service for tourists between Agra and Delhi, but the grim reality stares us in the face.

With many of the world’s rivers in a degraded state and facing increasing pressures associated with pollution, industrial development, and climate change, more than 100 countries participated in this year’s activities. The theme of this year’s event was once again “waterways in our communities” with an emphasis on both protecting rivers that remain in a healthy state, while striving to restore those that have been damaged in past.

“The importance of clean fresh water has been essential to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic these last two and a half years, so World Rivers Day is a timely opportunity for literally millions of people around the world to come together to commemorate the importance of healthy vibrant waterways”, said Mark Angelo, the founder and Chair of World Rivers Day, in a message.

This year was the 17th annual World Rivers Day

“World Rivers Day strives to increase public awareness of the importance of our waterways as well as the many threats confronting them”, said Angelo, founder of both BC and World Rivers Day and Chair Emeritus of the Rivers Institute at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

“Rivers are integral to all life”, added Angelo, who has paddled more than 1000 rivers in over 100 countries, perhaps more than any other. Angelo’s life-long commitment to river conservation, including the founding of World Rivers Day, has also been the subject of several feature length films including the award winning RiverBlue and Last Paddle; 1000 Rivers, One Life