Agra: On World Rivers Day, Taj City green activists on Sunday evening demanded a comprehensive National Rivers Policy to address issues relating to pollution and inter-state disputes.
River Connect Campaign members organised a public meeting at the Etmauddaula View Point Park along river Yamuna.
Environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya said there was an urgent need to construct a barrage on river Yamuna in Agra, for the safety of monuments along the river bank.
Shishir Bhagat, President of ‘Wake Up Agra’, said the state government should desilt and dredge the river bed to remove toxic pollutants.
Lok Swar President Rajiv Gupta reminded the government of its promise to start a ferry service from Delhi to Agra.
Activists Rahul Raj and Padmini Iyer said the upstream barrages should continuously discharge a minimum quantity of water regularly to keep the river alive and support aquatic life.
The green activists lamented the failure of politicians of all hues to initiate measures to save rivers and secure rights of rivers in India.
Across the globe, rivers are dying. Development has taken a heavy toll on water bodies even as regulatory agencies struggle to draw up a framework to conserve water and save the rivers which are both a heritage as well as a source of precious drinking water.
With many of the world’s rivers in a degraded state and facing increasing pressures associated with pollution, climate change, and industrial development, there was an urgent need for concerted global efforts.
Indian rivers have been reduced to sewage canal. State governments are dragging their feet on drawing up suitable strategies to save the rivers from pollution.
(IANS)
