Environmentalist on fast unto death, supporters petition PM

Supporters of environmentalist G D Aggarwal, who is sitting on a fast unto death in Uttarkashi demanding an end to construction...

Supporters of environmentalist G D Aggarwal, who is sitting on a fast unto death in Uttarkashi demanding an end to construction of dams on Ganga between Gangotri glacier and Uttarkashi, have started a campaign in the form of an online petition to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, calling for his intervention.

Aggarwal, a retired Professor from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, and first member secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), sat on the fast on the occasion of Ganga Dassehra on June 13 at the Manikarnika Ghats in Uttarkashi.

In the past three days, he has received support from prominent environmentalists, social activists and other quarters from across the country. These include a large number of his students, pioneer of Chipko movement Sunder Lal Bahuguna, Magsaysay award winners M C Mehta and Rajinder Singh, former BJP ideologue K N Govindacharya and the Shankaracharya of Dwarika Peeth and Badridham Peeth, Swaroopanand Saraswati.

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The online petition is being circulated on the Internet link petitiononline.com. The letter addressed to the Prime Minister asserts that construction of a dam disturbs the natural flow, ecology, and the belief of devout Hindus in the purity of Ganga river.

The petition points out that except in the Himalayan reaches, the Ganga is made to carry the sewage from cities and foul wastes from industries it crosses by. Now the onslaught is on the Himalayan reaches, on the Bhagirathi river.

“First the Tehri dam was built, then Maneri Bhali II at Uttarkashi. Next a series of five dams are planned or being built between the Gangotri glacier and Uttarkashi for generation of hydropower. At these sites water is stored, then released periodically through tunnels at suitable locations where powerhouses are built, back into the stream channel. The result is that in long stretches and over considerable period of time, there is no flow in the channel. The Ganga runs dry,” the petition reads.

Supporters of Dr Aggarwal have asked the Prime Minister to intervene in the matter and halt the “headlong destruction of the environment and loss of bio-diversity.

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The Uttarakhand Government has expressed its willingness to talk to those agitating against the construction of dams on the Ganga between Gangotri and Uttarkashi. A Government spokesperson told The Indian Express that the state Government is not in favour of building big hydel projects on the river, keeping in mind the fragile ecology of the region. But at the same time, the Government wants to tap the huge hydro power potential of the state.

However, Anil Gautam, a social activist, told The Indian Express that talks between two delegations of the agitators and the Government did not reach to any conclusion.