The Hindu : Karnataka News : `Govt. should check pollution of Kali'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 10, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

`Govt. should check pollution of Kali'

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, FEB. 9. The noted environmentalist and founder of `Chipko Movement,' Sundarlal Bahuguna, has drawn the attention of the State Government to the highly polluted state of Kali river in Uttara Kannada district.

Participating in a meet-the-press programme organised by the Press Club of Bangalore, Mr. Bahuguna brought with him a small bucketful of blackish Kali river water. Accompanied by the environmentalist, Pandurang Hegde, he blamed the West Coast Paper Mill at Dandeli for releasing untreated effluents into the Kali. The State Government should take immediate steps to stop the flow of effluents into the river. The river water has been poisoned and the human rights of the people living along its course are being violated. "They are being given poison instead of water," he said.

Mr. Bahuguna turned down a suggestion to take the water he had brought with him to the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh. The press should take the initiative in that matter, he said.

Mr. Bahuguna visited Kali river at Dandeli on Sunday and Monday. Earlier, he participated in a function connected with "Sharavathi Avalokana" a study of the state of Sharavathi river undertaken by Mr. Pandurang Hegde and others.

Ganga

Mr. Bahuguna said that the "Clean the Ganga" programme taken up the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, with gusto has come to a naught. Effluents such as those from the tanneries in Kanpur and untreated sewage from the towns along the river continued to pollute the river. The Ganga is clean only up to Hardwar. He said that the Tehri dam, which is being built in the Garhwal Himalayas, is posing the threat of greater pollution in the Ganga.

Mr. Bahuguna expressed its misgivings over the proposal to interlink rivers. It will serve no purpose as all the rivers are short of water. Only the contractors will benefit from that project.

Mr. Pandurang Hegde said that their study showed that the quantity of water carried by the Sharavathi has halved over the years. At its estuary, the river faced the problem of large quantities of seawater polluting the water.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka

News Update

Stories in this Section