Maintain ecological flow of rivers: Magsaysay awardee

Jotirmay Thapliyal

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 16

Magsaysay awardee Rajendra Singh, also known as ‘Jal Purush’, has expressed concern over rampant construction activities in Uttarakhand in the name of Kedarnath reconstruction and an all-weather road project.

Rajendra Singh, who was here on Wednesday, said the Himalayan ecology should be respected at all costs. “The Himalayas are not the Aravallis. A young mountain like a young person is bound to retaliate if disturbed”, he added. 

He also called for maintaining the ecological flow of rivers in the state. He said due to the construction of these dams, the debris had been dumped alongside the rivers.

“I am not pressing for the dismantling of these dams, but the ecological flow of rivers must be maintained. I too constructed as many as 11,800 small dams, but the construction activity was carried out keeping in view the river’s right to its course,” he said.

Rajendra Singh also called for a separate policy for the Himalayan region to ensure that Himalayan agriculture thrives and its rivers get rejuvenated. He called for linking crops and rain cycle in the Himalayas.

He said the rural folk of Rajasthan had revived eight rivers and brought water to the parched land of 1,200 villagers. He called for similar efforts in Uttarakhand, which has lost most of its natural water resources over a period of time.