E-Paper
?Launch satyagrah to overcome water crisis?
MAGSAYSAY AWARDEE and noted social worker, Rajendra Singh, stressed on the need to explore time-tested indigenous water management system to combat with water problems.
MAGSAYSAY AWARDEE and noted social worker, Rajendra Singh, stressed on the need to explore time-tested indigenous water management system to combat with water problems.
He was delivering his lecture on ‘Water: Construction and Struggle’ at Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth (MGKV) on Friday. The lecture was organised under the joint auspices of Sanjha Sanskriti Manch and National Coordination of People’s Movement.
Rajendra Singh described the present water problem as a new way of slavery in the country. He said the government was allowing multi-national companies to exploit underground water of country.
“People have equal right on the sub-surface water and underground water. Therefore, no one has the personal right to exploit underground water,” he said.
“Had Mahatma Gandhi been alive today, he would have launched a boycott movement against the sale of water in market similar to what he had launched against the foreign clothes (Manchester made) during the freedom movement,” he said and added that Mahatma Gandhi had selected ‘Charkha’ to make people self-reliant and self-pride during the freedom struggle of India.
He said Mahatma Gandhi’s decision to select Charkha for Indian society was a time-tested truth of contemporary society.
Singh said there was vast a difference between water discharge and recharge. “Water reservoirs and ponds are a part of community driven water management system,” he said. Water reservoirs and ponds recharged the underground water, he said.
Singh stated that the reason behind plummeting underground water level was change in life style, farming habits and industries. “If mismanagement of water was checked, the areas which have been declared as dark zones could be converted into white zones,” he said.
The need of the hour is to overcome the differences between discharge and recharge of water, he added.
He called upon the people to launch a ‘Satyagrah’ to overcome the water crisis and to check decline in underground water level.
Prominent among other present on the occasion included MGKV vice-chancellor, Prof SS Kushwaha, Prof Mahesh Vikram Singh, Prof Shobh Nath Tripathi, Prof Imam Shashtri, Father Ananad, Father Dilraj, Dr Aflatoon Desai, Nita Chaubey, Kunwarjee Agrawal and others.
