Karnataka - Shimoga   

Sundarlal Bahuguna flags off `Sharavathy Avalokana'

By Our Special Correspondent

Environmentalist Sundarlal Bahuguna addressing a gathering at Ambu Teertha in Tirthahalli taluk of Shimoga on Thursday before flagging off the `Sharavathy Avalokana'.

SHIMOGA, JAN. 20. ``Sharavathy Avalokana'', a padayatra to create awareness among the people to conserve water sources in the Sharavathy river valley and study the social, economic and cultural life of the people living in the valley, got off to an enthusiastic start at Ambu Teertha in Tirthahalli taluk on Thursday.

Ambu Teertha, a sleepy village nestling in the verdant scenic environs from where the Sharavathy originates, enjoys religious importance too.

Legend has it that Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana chanced upon the place during their exile. When Sita was thirsty, Sri Rama hit the ground with his arrow to quench Her thirst which resulted in water gushing out. Since then the place is known as Ambu Teertha (Ambu means arrow and teertha means water).

Environmentalist and founder of the Chipko movement, Sundarlal Bahuguna, who inaugurated the march by handing over the flag to the padayatris, lauded the initiative taken by nature lovers in creating awareness among the people about the need for conservation of water.

He hoped the "Sharavathy Avalokana'' would serve as a source of inspiration for environmentalists elsewhere to take up a similar exercise to emphasise the need for people to conserve water.

Sundarlal Bahuguna said: "The rivers which flow for our good cannot express the pain caused by selfish human beings who forget that nature is our mother. What is created naturally is being destroyed. This trend cannot be reversed unless people desist from destructive activities such as senseless felling of trees and exploiting the rivers.''

He congratulated the environmentalist, Pandurang Hegde, for leading the padayatra and hoped that what had started on a small scale would grow into a bid movement. He pointed out that most of the rivers in the South, which were affected as a consequence of being exploited, should derive benefit from such voluntary programmes.

Sundarlal Bahuguna said people should learn to live with nature in harmony. They should take up tree planting in a big way to compensate the damage done to nature, as it was too much to expect the Government to protect nature.

Book released

Writer Na. D'Souza, who released a book, "Sharavathy, Enee Paristhiti'' (Sharavathy, what is your plight), a collection of articles on environment compiled by him, said there had been a fall in rainfall in the Malnad region after the construction of the Sharavathy Hydel Project.

On the padayatra, Mr. Pandurang Hegde said it would end at Honnawar on February 2 after covering nearly 100 km. Apart from environmentalists and students, representatives of voluntary organisations and villagers had joined the padayatra, he added.

The Principal of the Sahyadri Science College, T.S. Hoovaiah Gowda, the President of the Nonaburu Gram Panchayat, Sharadamma, and Nataraj Aralasurali, a lecturer of the Tunga Mahavidyalaya of Tirthahalli, spoke. Ramaswamy welcomed the gathering. Prakash proposed a vote of thanks.

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