The Issue of saving our ganga

Reverence for Ganga is the ethos of Indian population. A very large majority believes in its divinity. It is venerated as the holiest. Ganga is mentioned in the Vedas. Thinkers and social workers of present times, such as Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, have written how it binds the population with countless beliefs and faith. They have strived to preserve its purity.

Urbanisation and non-sustainable industrial development has sullied Ganga and other rivers. To correct the wrong done, river conservation programmes were launched. The first such effort was formulated as ‘Ganga Action Plan’ under the directions of former Prime Minister, late Shri Rajiv Gandhi.

Except in the Himalayan reach, Ganga is made to carry sewage from cities and foul wastes from industries. Large amounts of water is abstracted. Now the onslaught is on the Himalayan reach, the Bhagirathi. First, Tehri dam was built, then Maneri Bhali II at Uttarkashi. Next a series of 5 dams are planned or being built between the Gangotri glacier and Uttarkashi for generation of hydropower. At these sites water is stored, then released periodically through tunnels at suitable locations where power houses are built, back into the stream channel. The same is repeated again (and again) further downstream. The result is that in long stretches and over considerable period of time, there is no flow in the channel. The Ganga runs dry.

The final insult is that the Environment Impact Assessment report of the projects states that no monument of historical, religious or archaeological value is affected!

Professor Dr. G. D. Agrawal, formerly Professor and Dean at IIT, Kanpur, Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board, a noted teacher, a renowned environmentalist and a devout Hindu, in protest of such callous attitude, has decided to go on fast from June 17, 2008, until death, unless it is decided that henceforth all development work which affects the flow in the stream channel between Gangotri and Uttarkashi is stopped.

We, the undersigned (and many others) agree with the stand taken by Professor Agrawal. It is a matter of making a choice between a thousand megawatts of power and upholding the faith of billions of people.

Dr. M. Anandakrishnan, Chairman, Board of Governers, IIT, Kanpur
Dr. Ragni Prem, Secretary, Banvasi Sewa Ashram
Shri Paritosh Tyagi, formerly Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board
Padam Shree Shri Dilip Biswas former Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board.
Shri M. C. Mehta, Noted Environmental Lawyer and Megasaysay Awardee.
Shri Rajendra Singh, Noted Water saviour and Megasaysay Awardee.
Dr. Ravi Chopra, Noted Educationists and Director, Peoples Science Institute, Dehra Doon