It was near a large industrial estate at Creekmouth, in Barking, London. in 1878, that more than 600 passengers on the steamship Princess Alice died when the pleasure boat sank in the Thames in a collision. As they swam towards the safety of the shore, the passengers were overcome by the noxious cocktail of pollution in the water. In 1957, the pollution levels became so bad that the River Thames was declared biologically dead. The amount of oxygen in the water fell so low that no life could survive and the mud reeked of rotten eggs.
Fifty years later, the Thames has become a very different place. It teems with life: 125 species of fish swim beneath its surface while more than 400 species of invertebrates live in the mud, water and river banks. Waterfowl, waders and sea birds feed off the rich pickings in the water while seals, dolphins and even otters are regularly spotted between the river banks where it meanders through London.
(source: The Telegraph-- By Richard Gray-- 13 Oct 2010)
Coming back to India, we have been hearing about the Ganga cleaning for years. Since we have very important people associated with the job, let us let them do the job the way they have been doing.
I am on much smaller projects, nearer home. I look at (i) Bhubaneswar's ancient BinduSarovar; at (ii) the Kuakhai River at the entrance to the city of Bhubaneswar where the government draws water for drinking after treatment; at (iii) the Kathajodi River at the entrance of Cuttack city where city's raw sewage keep belching into the River where some youths love swimming and other bathing. Despite Odisha Chief Minister's much understood zero tolerance on corruption, things remain stinking and one is reminded of Rajiv Gandhi's Law on the way public money travels in India.
I have a dream too on some of our Rivers . The Brahmani is one. On its bank we spent years in course of our postings. We remember our baths at dawn in the solitude of the forests and green hills around in the blue waters of a peaceful Brahmani at Darjing, The River is now one of the most polluted among Odisha Rivers. We should make a choice-- between what the Thames had slipped into by 1957 and what it became fifty years after, by 2007.
The second one is the Mahanadi which I had watched for five years, flowing into the Sea at Paradip. Let us keep this mighty River in a state of immortality and thereby prove our worth. "Why not have a Boat Festival on it between Sonepur and Kantilo?" I had suggested to my dear friend Ranjan Panda. He responded warmly and immediately. I am sure he will make it.
What our Rivers are crying for today is a CHIPKO MOVEMENT. We have to dive into them and hold them against polluters. Our Boats with groups of youths, dancing and singing on the blue waters of the Mahanadi, will keep the River flowing, enriching our lives; preserving our culture and heritage.
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11th September, 2015
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