Monday, 16 May 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Dehradun based students’ activist group, Making a Difference by Being the Difference (MAD) voiced strong opposition to the proposed elevated road project on Rispana and Bindal rivers. Speaking to media persons here on Sunday, MAD members pointed out that any such project on these rivers before actual rejuvenation and revival of these drying water bodies would be tantamount to yet another unplanned and haphazard construction activity by the State government at the cost of the delicate ecological balance of the eco-sensitive Doon valley.
Pointing out that a lot has been talked about Rispana rejuvenation, MAD members opined that not an inch has changed on the ground. They further observed that their regular inspections in the areas where several thousand trees were supposedly planted last year show that the survival rate is not even five per cent. Moreover, garbage dumping into the Rispana has only increased. The sewer line of Dehradun still lies beneath Rispana river and encroachments have seen a rise in both Rispana and Bindal rivers. Not much has been planned to clean the rivers and the State government has reduced its participation in the Rispana to Rishiparna movement as an annual photo opportunity moment in the month of July, on account of Harela festival. Showcasing how MAD has always supported any positive endeavours to rejuvenate Rispana, the students activist group,underlined the need towards genuine efforts or the rejuvenation of the Rispana. MAD members have regularly highlighted that the 2014 report of the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee paves the way for a roadmap that has to be pursued for Rispana rejuvenation. There is an urgent need to revive the springs that give Rispana its perennial water and it is important to clean the catchment area of any human habitation not only for the sake of the river but also for the sake of the lives of people living on these rivers, since they are most prone to the disease outbreaks like dengue among others. The student activists stressed on the declaration of the Government of India, of Rispana as a part of the Ganga river basin and argued that the Rispana river should also be made a part of the nationwide effort to clean river Ganga as rivers of Dehradun together are a major factor responsible for bringing down the water quality of the Ganga from A to B since at Rishikesh, before the Dehradun rivers meet the Ganga the water quality is ‘A’ and by the time it reaches Haridwar, Dehradun waters have also been mixed with Ganga the water quality falls to ‘B’.
MAD has decided to embark upon a city-wide movement to again mobilise Doonites for the cause of genuine rejuvenation of its rivers. The group has warned that any infrastructure push such as the failed riverfront development project or the new elevated road project would be met with strong opposition of the youth of Dehradun.
