Water bodies in Kalyan look like nullah, not like lake or river, says Waterman of India Rajendra Singh

All the stakeholders are turning our water bodies into a nullah, expressed the Waterman of India, Rajendra Singh, who visited the Kalyan creek on Thursday; Singh said he couldn’t term them as lake or river

All the stakeholders are turning our water bodies into a nullah, expressed the Waterman of India, Rajendra Singh, who visited the Kalyan creek near Durgadi Fort on Thursday. Singh was in the city as a part of his Virasat Yatra across the country for eco restoration of water bodies.

Waterman of India, Rajendra Singh (centre), visited the Kalyan creek on Thursday. He said that after observing the water bodies, he found them to be like nullah, not lake or river. He also interacted with school students and NGOs during his visit, which is a part of Virasat Yatra for eco restoration of water bodies. (SAJANA NAMBIAR/HT PHOTO)

“The Kalyan creek is presently in ICU, the upcoming generation should play the role of a doctor and save these water bodies in the coming days,” said Singh, a Magsaysay Award winner and who spoke to a group of students from Sacred Heart School.

Singh lamented that there cannot be a dumping ground near the water body. The authorities must close the dumping ground at the earliest and save the water body, he said after local representatives from NGOs highlighted the pollution caused by the dumping ground in the water.

Singh also blamed the sewage municipal waste and industrial effluents as the major causes of pollution in the water bodies and also pointed at the lack of strict implementation of measures by the authorities.

The visit was jointly organised by Mumbai water warriors and Indian Peninsular River Basin Council (IPRBC), Mumbai chapter. Singh also visited the Waldhuni River and Ambernath Shiv temple.

“I observed the water bodies here and I cannot term them as a lake or river. They completely look like nullah. We want them to be known as rivers and lakes, and that is why we are taking all these efforts to reach out to the stakeholders through this campaign,” added Singh.

At the end of the yatra, a memorandum for effective resolution would be submitted to the Environment Minister.

“Social activists, environmentalists, subject experts, government officials and academicians from all over the country are expected to participate at various places during the yatra,” said Snehal Donde, convenor.

Mehak Bhagwani, 16, a student of Sacred Heart School who was a part of the visit, said, “We have taken an oath to do our part by not dumping waste and also segregating the waste at our end. We students got a very good chance to interact with someone who has worked a lot on water conservation.”