Environmentalists urge govt to run tests, come up with strategy to keep rivers clean

It will also provide in serving our common purpose for the benefit of community and environment as a whole, and to end the exploitation and destruction of environment by those who seek personal profits rather than long-term benefits," said Shailaja Deshpande, director of Jeevitnadi.

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NGOs and experts working in the environment sector will be happy to give all the support and assistance if required by authorities,” Shailaja Deshpande said. (Representational Photo)

With reports of water bodies looking clean and the eco-system near water bodies flourishing due to much lower levels of pollution during the nationwide lockdown, an NGO, Jeevitnadi, has reached out to the state government, urging it to use this opportunity to study the condition of water bodies and sources of pollution, to formulate a better strategy to keep them clean.

“A report on the water quality will provide baseline data to reorient strategy for environmental norms for restoring the rivers back to their own glory. It will also provide in serving our common purpose for the benefit of community and environment as a whole, and to end the exploitation and destruction of environment by those who seek personal profits rather than long-term benefits,” said Shailaja Deshpande, director of Jeevitnadi.

In a communication to state Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray, she said that many NGOs and individuals have been monitoring water quality at locations in other parts of the country. “But the lockdown makes it impossible for us to do so. NGOs and experts working in the environment sector will be happy to give all the support and assistance if required by authorities,” Deshpande said, urging the state government to test water bodies at various locations. “I request you to organise collection of water quality samples as specified by CPCB guidelines, including testing levels of pesticides and heavy metals at entry and exit point of… every confluence of every river in the state,”read the letter.

Ajay Jadhav

Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More

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