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Saving the Yamuna
A DRIVE FOR CLEANLINESS
By Pooja Nanda, Preeti Sharma
Water and life is synonymous with each other. It is nature?s gift, which has unfortunately been exploited by mankind. Water is abundantly found in rivers, lakes, streams etc. However, the importance of water has been greatly underestimated. The fact is, that water is being rapidly polluted and ruined by agricultural pesticides, industrial and human waste. Unlimited use of groundwater is lowering the water table. The oceans are abundant in water but freshwater is diminishing at an alarming rate.
India is blessed with mighty rivers. Delhi, the heart of India is fortunate to be by the banks of the Yamuna. The ancient scriptures believed the Yamuna to be sacred enough to purify one?s soul. Unfortunately this is no more true. Today, the Yamuna is simply sewage. The irony could not hit one harder.
The Govt. of N.C.T. Delhi decided to organise a cleanliness drive along the west and east banks of the river. Lasting for three days, the drive invited NGOs, corporates, students and common people to lend a helping hand in the attempt to clean the Yamuna.
The staff of WWF-India committed towards nature conservation and creating awareness, volunteered in this cleanliness drive. WWF staff reached the ITO Bridge at 7 in the morning. The river presented a sorry site. It was stagnant, choked by the growth of water hyacinth. Some volunteers were already at work.
Water hyacinth had been collected in boats, which had to be removed physically by the volunteers. We stood gazing at the river for the first few minutes, undecided as to how we could touch so much dirt with our bare hands. Till one staff member took the long spade and began to pull the unwanted weeds away from the river bank. Others decided to utilize the baskets for throwing away the trash, consisting of poly-bags, decomposed stuff for religious rituals, weeds etc. Little did they know about content of the baskets - the remains of dead animals. This was however no deterrent to the work.
Within a spell of fifteen minutes we had mastered the art of weed cleaning. As soon as the boats got the creepy weeds, we started disposing them off in a systematic manner. Humming the tune of ? sathi hath barahna sathi re?, more than a ton of water hyacinth was removed. The effective combination of uniformity of purpose and enthusiasm were the driving force.
We also enjoyed some humorous incidents. Some schools had also arrived at ITO. They took a long time in wearing gloves and finally when they settled, they had a photo session after which they left! Some volunteers were even reluctant to hold the dirty basket with their hands. They were holding it with their fingertips and at a distance of half a metre from their bodies. The politicians too did not set a worthy example. Clad in sparkling whites, they were gracious enough to drop by the dirty and dying river. Accosted by photographers, they posed but didn?t even venture near the dirt. Prompted by the media to descend down to the garbage for a better photograph, they immediately declined, fearing for their dress and health.
Meanwhile, our work had gained momentum. Hands sullied with dirt, dresses stinking of garbage and brows full of sweat we carried on. An onlooker could not resist commenting: "Girls who have not even had a glass of water on their own are picking up filth of the Yamuna". Undaunted we continued with our shramdan.
The million-dollar question is how can a river survive the shocks of the community that has a very myopic vision. How can drives like this be successful when the industry emits hazardous wastes, the households dump vast quantities of sewage and the politicians simply pose for photographs? Everybody contributes to the mess and they need to act in unison to clean it as well. At the individual level the magic mantra is ? reuse, reduce and recycle. That?s the message that needs to be spread far and wide.
Our t-shirts said it all ? We are saving the Yamuna, are you?
Courtesy http://www.wwfindia.org
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