‘Talks constructive,but won’t return with empty promises’

Speaking to Newsline on Tuesday afternoon,Ravi,one of the leaders of the movement,who met Rawat and Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said: “On Monday night,our meeting with ministers and other officials were cordial and constructive. We believe that the government is trying to do something about the state of the Yamuna. There was a continuation of the meeting,this time only with the Water Resources Minister,on Tuesday morning. They listened to us patiently and told us about their constraints as well as what is being done.”

The primary demand from the protesting group is “to release fresh water into the Yamuna river from the Hathini Kund barrage to inject fresh water into the river which has turned into a sewage canal”.

“The government is being sincere in conversations with us thus far and we want some concrete action. In the meeting on Tuesday morning,we were told by the Water Resources Minister that they would have something decisive to tell us by 7.30 pm. Two years ago,we held a similar protest and the government’s promises did not bear fruit. This time,there are more protesters,and we will not return with empty promises,” Ravi said.

Representatives of the Rakshak Dal said in the evening that the minister had conveyed his desire to meet the delegation once more on Tuesday night. Ministry officials confirmed that the meeting went on till late on Tuesday night. Sunil Kumar,general secretary of the Yamuna Rakshak Dal,said,“We will plan the next phase of our protest depending on what the government tells us. If they agree to release water,we will call off the protest. Otherwise,we will consider taking the protesters to Jantar Mantar and are not opposed to the option of a hunger strike either.”

At Aligaon,where tents have been erected for protesters from Uttar Pradesh,Gujarat and Maharashtra,there was a cultural celebration. The day saw people from different areas performing folk dances,and nukkad nataks,all themed on saving the river.