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Rajendra Singh,
Water Man, A Magsaysay award winner |
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The Water Satyagraha
Water man, he is popularly called. In fact, his email id also says-waterman. So much so, people may not recognize him by his actual name, but you say Waterman and they instantly click- Rajendra Singh. A Magsaysay award winner, he has done tremendous work for rainwater harvesting in Alwar, Rajasthan.
August 2007, Singh and his Jal Biradari began his Yamuna Satyagraha in Delhi to save Yamuna from the Common Wealth Games 2010. The Game Village is proposed to be constructed on Yamuna bed, which is likely to completely butcher the already dying river. Ashutosh Bhardwaj met Rajendra on a December afternoon. The first question straightway was the achievements of 135 days of Satyagraha.
He points at the three major achievements. First, Parliament Cabinet during a meeting has assured to contribute all possible efforts to save Yamuna. Second, Lieutenant Governor Delhi has repeatedly proposed a moratorium on new construction at Yamuna bed in Delhi. Third, a debate on rivers is gathering momentum at national level and GoI is deeply interested in it.
But is it just about the dying Yamuna or are there bigger issues involved? We already hear of booming real estate business. He agrees to it and also points that few companies are capturing land near rivers. Apart from increasing pollution, it destroys river bed. He appeals scholars, academicians, journalists to come forward and unite against this real estate upsurge. Yamuna Satyagraha is actually an effort to bring civil society to a common minimum platform. The biggest achievement of this Satyagraha, he notes, is the change in the attitude of Delhi's civil society. People are taking Yamuna more seriously than ever.
It seems, after conquering Alwar, Rajendra has now decided a Halla Bol, a massive agitation program in Delhi. He has hoisted his flag on Yamuna. Does he consider Yamuna Satyagraha a Halla Bol? And he smiles, humbly replies," I am really pleased; if it actually becomes a Halla Bol. Things are changing fast. Thousands of students are approaching and associating with this Satyagraha. Today itself, they have taken a pledge to save Yamuna."
He has generated support, true. But loud voices are no big deal in India, especially in Delhi. Difficult is to bring the change. Several Satyagrahas are organised in Delhi on daily basis. Can Yamuna Satyagraha ever achieve its foremost demand-not allowing Yamuna bed for Common Wealth Games? Or would it meet just lip service before finally landing up in scrap box of history. However, Singh is hopeful. He rests assured of realizing this demand. But with less than three years left for mega sport event, can authorities shift the venue now? Do we have space in Delhi? He promptly replies," Safdarjang Airport is lying vacant. Sector 24 and 25 of Dwarka are specifically for this purpose. Lodhi Colony is to be decommissioned and replaced by another colony. You can make Common Wealth Khel Gaon at either of these places." He wonders why government ignored these sites and zeroed in on Yamuna-bed only. Is there something fishy? Some possible deals? He expresses ignorance about the existence of any deal, yet does not deny its possibility altogether.
Significantly, decades old slums near Yamuna are demolished to clean river bed. Hundreds of thousands people are rendered homeless in the garb of developing Yamuna. Anupam Mishra once told this reporter that capital of Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri was evacuated for want of water. Delhi too can meet similar fate. Agrees Singh. Delhi may be deserted. A hapless, helpless capital. A diseased capital. A struggling, stuttering capital.
Significantly, there are many rivers in India facing this threat of real estate ambush. Yamuna has acquired attention as it lies in the national capital. Apparently, Delhi apart, we nowhere hear of Yamuna. What about other rivers? Singh admits," Rivers across the country face a Halla Bol of real estate. However, it has not yet acquired dangerous proportions. We can counter it through collective action. We need persons who connect at the level of heart with their rivers, who are passionate about their rivers."
Surely it requires a nation-wide movement to converge energies of various isolated groups. To sense the need and opportunity, Rajendra has called for a national level strategic meet of river representatives across the country in Jaipur this December. He calls for all right minded journalists, academicians, activists, students to join together.
However, is it fair to exclusively blame government and industries for dying Yamuna. Take any religious festival-Durga Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi-we immerse several idols in the river. How can you prevent religiously devoted public from depositing polythene, coins and ashes in the river. Rajendra suggests instead of preventing, we ask them which religion allows polluting a river and sanctions killing of streams. His mantra is simple-force people to think and reflect. And they will change.
Is anybody listening.
Ashutosh Bhardwaj
28 Nov 2007
Hyderabad
The work of Tarun Bhagat Sangh in traditional water body resotoration, natural
resource management and river revival are well known. We put together several
links that describe their work
Click here
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