Wednesday, 27 April | PNS | Dehradun
At a time when the State government is considering the construction of elevated roads on stretches of the Rispana and Bindal rivers in Dehradun, concerned citizens and experts opine that such construction may ring the death knell of these two rivers which are already in a dire strait in Dehradun city. They state that the government should instead attempt to clean and revive these rivers, as was planned earlier. Former chief minister Harish Rawat has also stated that construction of elevated roads on the rivers will end the existence of these two very important rivers.
Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Scientists (SPECS) chief functionary Brij Mohan Sharma said, “Now we can’t even label them as rivers as the Rispana and Bindal are now on a ventilator support system. They are taking their last breath. We are running out of time as these rivers are on their deathbed.”
He further added that the Rispana, Bindal and Suswa carry the toxics dumped in them in the city to the Ganga and protected forest areas. These highly contaminated rivers contain toxins like chromium, zinc, lead, manganese and grease which are very harmful to the soil and aquifers. The once clean and thriving rivers are now so contaminated that they are endangering human and animal life in areas near the rivers, according to a study conducted by SPECS.
“The only way to tackle this problem is that the government should make someone custodian of the river, so it’s easy for us to hold them responsible,” added Sharma.
Ecologist Soumya Prasad said, “We need a national policy to get to the bottom of the problem. The various departments of the state should come together and form a vision on how to save these rivers. With funding to support necessary actions, this grave issue of dying rivers in Dehradun can be solved,” she asserted.
She further said, “If we can try and clean big rivers like the Ganga, we also have to make sure that their tributaries are also clean.”
Karan Kapoor, working president of Dehradun based student activist group Making a Difference by Being the Difference( MAD) said, “On Sundays we usually organise a cleaning drive around these rivers. The government should map out rivers in order to identify the illegal encroachment on the riverside. These encroachments narrow down the rivers, causing them to dry,” he added.
