Hyderabad: Rajendra Singh, the “Water Man of India”, is currently on a parikrama of the Godavari river to make it pollution free.
The river that flows through five states, is degrading by the day, and Mr Singh has been protesting against organising any form of gatherings or kumbhs on the banks of the rivers.
Disappointed with the sad plight of the Musi in Hyderabad, he said the city’s water bodies needed immediate attention. “The lakes in Hyderabad during the Nizam’s time and the kind of water management we had was amazing. There was decentralised management and now they have become polluted nalas,” he said.
Talking about his fight to make the Godavari pollution free, he said, “I have toured Godavari and there is not much left of it and the government will very soon change it into a nala in its records. We want freedom for the river’s course, whereas political leaders will remember Godavari now, because it is bringing votes for them. They will woo voters by promising all sorts of plans for Godavari,” said this Ramon Magsaysay awardee who was also named among the 50 people who could save the planet by The Guardian.
Protesting against organising kumbhs at the river, he said, “Crores of people will come to take a dip in the Godavari and they will all fall sick. We have even fought for this at the court. A committee has been formed and the matter is sub judice in High Courts and the Supreme Court.”
