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Environment activists rally to save Ganga (Go To Top) Varanasi: Environmental activists and locals in Varanasi have joined hands for an awareness campaign to save the holy Ganga, one of the most polluted rivers in the world. The activists took out a procession on beautifully-lit boats in the wee hours of Wednesday reminding people of the sacred origins of the mighty river.The procession was thronged by hundreds as residents and tourists gathered at the banks to watch the illuminated boats floating past the serene river. Revered as mother Goddess by Hindus, the Ganga river, it is believed, cleanses people of their sins but in recent years a massive influx of human and industrial pollution has turned its waters into a liquid hell. Though numerous action plans are in place, little has changed. The river is used by millions and experts say the only way to sustain conservation is people's involvement. "Through this procession we want the people of Varanasi to awaken to the cause of the Ganga. They should pay special attention to the river, keep it clean, keep it pure. They should respect the river," Vijay Chaudhry, an organiser of the event, said. Though
a Ganga Action Plan was set up by the federal government in 1985 to
cleanse the river, much of the action remains on paper. The Ganga
runs its course of over 2,500 kilometers from Gangotri in the Himalayas
to Ganga Sagar in the Bay of Bengal through 29 cities with a population
of over 100,000 each. In 1996, the apex court had banned the discharge
of effluents from various tanneries factories located on its banks
in Kanpur. With one billion tonnes of waste being dumped into it everyday,
the Ganga remains one of the most polluted rivers in the world. Railways to link Kashmir's interiors by April (Go To Top) Jammu: For the residents of Jammu and Kashmir it has been a long wait. But the wait finally seems to be over. The remote areas of the picturesque state would be connected through railway track by mid-April this year. Authorities said the 54-km-long track between Jammu and Udhampur was almost ready. "Tentatively, I think that the first train to cross this railway track will be a goods train which we are planning to run on Baisakhi day. After that the commission will inspect it for safety purposes and we will also allow more passanger trains to run after 16-18th April," said Rajiv Ranjan, General Manager of Northern Railways. The railways earlier announced that the route would be made operational on March 25, but the work on the Ghambhir bridge on Tawi river delayed the project by a few weeks. Authorities hope the country's highest bridge would be complete in two weeks' time. The track, which took 21 years to complete would provide a vital link to the backward and remote areas of the state. Out of the total length of 54.5 km, 10.28 km of the track passes through tunnels and 5.16 km stretch is made up of bridges. There are 51 bridges and 11 tunnels on route. Work
on the rail link started on April 14, 1983 at an estimated cost
of 500 million rupees, but due to delay the cost has escalated to
5.1 billion rupees. The project got a push in 1995 when it was declared
a national project and more funds were provided. Sudhir Awasthi,
Inspector General of Railway Police Force, said safety of the train
would be their prime concern, as the area was prone to militancy.
"For safety, local police, security forces, GRP (Government Railway
Police) and RPF (Railway Protection Force) togther are carrying
out a joint security programme. In this, tracks, bridges and tunnel
patrolling is being carried out by GRP. And saftey of passengers
will be taken care of by RPF," said Awasthi. The next phase of the
project linking Udhampupur to Katra is scheduled to be completed
by next year. But the real challenge for the Northern Railways is
to connect the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country, which
the railways hopes to achieve by 2007. Darjeeling hill resort faces acute water shortage (Go To Top) Darjeeling: Water scarcity has hit Darjeeling with the onset of tourist season. The supply system of the picturesque hill station dates back to 1850 when the British colonial rulers developed the hill resort. People complain that drinking water comes at a stiff price. "We are taking these filled water cans to the market. We sell these water cans for Rs. 40-50," Ganesh Pradhan, a local resident, said.
The restaurant owners, who were looking forward for the tourist season,
say they are disappointed. "We are facing a lot of water problems.
We have to buy water in the tourist season. We are very unhappy. The
government has not done anything till date," Pathan Mukhia, a restaurant
owner, said. For a city which requires two million gallons of water
every day, the municipality supplies only half the required quantity
and with the surge in population the demand is expected to grow many
folds. There are three reservoirs or man-made lakes in Darjeeling.
The first lake, built in 1910, has a capacity of 20 million gallons.The
second, built in 1932, has a capacity of 13.5 million gallons of water.
The source of water for the lakes is "Jhoras" or natural springs which
are connected with the lakes through conduit lines. Experts say water
scarcity could be solved to a certain extent by laying bigger pipes. Kodaikanal lake drying up (Go To Top) Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu): Kodaikanal lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in Tamil Nadu, is awaiting a slow death. Increasing population around the lake has resulted in the conversion of vast areas of the lake's catchment area to agriculture land. The lake has shrunk by nearly 15 percent to 20 percent over the past decade due to excessive construction activity in the town. Kodaikanal lake, in the heart of the hill resort, draws crowds throughout the year. Large extents of the lake are covered by hyacinth, hydrella and algae. Environmentalists say erratic monsoon has also contributed to the drying up of the lake. "Kodaikanal generally receives about 2000 millimetres of rainfall annually but now it has gone down to 1000. This has resulted in a drought-like situation. The drought is not only because of less rainfall, but also by monoculture practice through which water- intensive trees like Euclyptus are being planted in large numbers destroying the original grasslands which recharge the water table," said Rajamohan, a noted enviornmentalist. Rajmohan said siltation was another factor leading to the deterioration of the lake's biodiversity. "The
beauty of the lake has further been disturbed by the soil erosion.
The lake was 60 feet deep but due to excessive soil erosion and destruction
of natural vegetation, the depth now is just 10 to 12 feet," he said.
The state government has prepared an action plan to control soil erosion.
Various schemes such as dredging of streams, weed control and catchment
area improvement measures like afforestation are being carried out. |
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