Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy walked along the course of the stinking Musi river which many can barely tolerate for five long kilometres on his birthday — the first one since he came to power. Many would wonder why he needed to trouble himself so when he could easily enjoy the day in Hyderabad. However, Mr Revanth Reddy, who is known for working for ideas that he believes in, would not sit idle when Opposition parties are trying to scuttle the cause — the rejuvenation of the Musi river — that he has throughout espoused.
Rivers were the lifeblood of Indians until unplanned industrialisation and urbanisation converted them into mere sewage conduits. The Musi river, a tributary of the river Krishna, on whose banks Hyderabad was established over 500 years ago, became the victim of this monumental neglect.
When Mr Revanth Reddy chose to correct this historical blunder, Opposition parties ganged up on him to scuttle the project. However, not one to climb down, he took the fight head on by opting for a Musi walkathon, which showed people how a living river like the Musi has been transformed into a toxic cesspool.
Mr Revanth Reddy is known as a person who does deep research into an idea before owning it and implementing it. It is believed that he has two objectives for taking up the Musi project — leaving his mark on Hyderabad for generations to come and building a riverfront economy, a time-tested model across the world.
However, the relocation of fewer than 500 families from the river bed has caused a huge uproar and given an issue to the Opposition to agitate around. Therefore, rehabilitating 10,000 families living in the buffer zone will naturally be much tougher — forcing Mr Revanth Reddy to adopt the realistic approach of developing a 10-km stretch from Gandipet to Bapu Ghat and showcasing it to stakeholders for smooth launch of the remaining phases. The success of the project will serve as an example for the whole country. India needs to revive its dying rivers.
