Dam building spree must stop: Water experts

Bengaluru: This world may be divided between science and religion, but Prof. G. D. Agarwal, who dedicated his life in his tireless pursuit to save river Ganga, saw no such contradiction - He was both an outstanding scientist and a pious sanyasi.

Save the Rivers Campaign organised by Gram Seva Sangh as a tribute to Prof Agarwal is an effort to motivate and mobilize civil society through involving all activist groups and individuals engaged in protecting and conserving nature, especially the regional river systems from wanton destruction, be it Cauvery, Arkavati, and several smaller river systems across the state.

Rainwater expert Vishwanath Shrikantaiah said the Prof Agarwal had only three requests, which included a complete stop on sand mining, deforestation and no dams on the upper stretch of Ganga.

“Every little activity we do has an impact on river. Can we reverse the dam making spree? The exploitation of ground water has impacted rivers and hence there should be a cap on the amount of water we can draw from earth,” he added. 

In 1947 India had 370 dams, but today the numbers have swelled to 6000.

Vishwanath further pointed out to the importance of wells. “The well communicates with us. If it is dry it signals something and Prof Agarwal also talked about its importance,” he added.

B.L. Shankar, former chairman Karnataka Vidhana Parishath reminisced the beauty of Malnad. That has been destroyed by abuse of ground water and the steady overuse of fertilisers and pesticides. 

“Malnad of today is a prominent agricultural zone. He lamented that a scientific education had done little to enhance a logical mindset. The fruit bearing trees that used to be a major part of cultivation have given way to commercial plantation of silver oak trees, Nilgiris and acacias, which affects both commoners and farmers. According to him, sand mining is now a part of a mafia organization, which far exceeds our requirements,” he added. 

In an attempt to make the government machinery act on saving Ganga, Prof Agarwal wrote three letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and went on fast unto death for over hundred days. He then suffered a heart attack and died. One of his long standing demands was to stop any construction in the upstream of the Ganges. 

Abhijit Mitra, professor, scientist and Lokavidya activist, said, “We are led by the myth that human needs are endless and unlimited, but our resources aren’t. This inculcates the belief that in order to be successful one must be driven by greed and overpower competition. Thus, we are lured and trapped by the concept of development, while with every bit of progress there is collateral damage.” 

Environmentalist Leo F. Saldanha quipped that only free flowing rivers can be called as rivers, while those stopped by big dams are dead rivers.