The Hindu : New Delhi News : History repeats itself on the Yamuna

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Wednesday, Sep 05, 2007
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New Delhi

History repeats itself on the Yamuna

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

NEW DELHI: Legend has it that when Kalia Nag, a giant serpent who lived under the waters of the Yamuna, began polluting it, Lord Krishna drove it out and cleansed the river. Hundreds of years after the legend took shape, there was a symbolic removal of Kalia Nag from inside the grand old river here on Tuesday.

On the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami, scores of Yamuna activists who have been camping to protect the river and its flood plains offered prayers to the holy waters and re-enacted the scene of the Lord vanquishing Kalia Nag.

“Two of our volunteers dressed as Lord Krishna walked into the river and pulled out Kalia Nag. We are hopeful that after this symbolic cleansing of the river, our Government, which has donned on the role of Kansa, will realise the mistake of allowing construction on the flood plains,” said the legendary Waterman Rajinder Singh of Jal Biradari who is part of the ongoing Yamuna Satyagraha.

To join in the special prayer, people came from the neighbouring States of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. “The movement is gaining momentum, and we have decided to give the Government time till October 2 to sort out the issue,” said Mr. Rajinder Singh.

“There are some suggestions that we have put forth and want the Government to act on,” he added: “First, they have to stop all construction work on the flood plains and drop all such proposals. There should be a ‘panchvati’ on both sides of the river. The Government should encourage agriculture and plantation on the river banks not construction. Second, there was an MoU signed by five States in 1994 to release 10 cusec (cubic meter per second) of water into the river to keep it fresh; this is not being honoured and needs to be adhered to.”

‘Ban construction’

The activists have also sought notification of the River Regulation Zones and a ban on all development work near the river that poses a threat to it. “We want the Government to direct the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to notify the RRZ, the draft of which is pending for action since 2002,” Mr. Singh said.

Cautioning that any lapse by the Government in accepting the “suggestions” would act as a catalyst to strengthen their movement, Mr. Singh said: “Our campaign to save the Yamuna has entered the 35th day. But till now everything is being done in a disciplined and non-violent way. We are still persuading; but if pushed further, we will start pressurising.”

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