World Rivers Day: Pollution in Ravi, Beas rivers goes unabated
World Rivers Day would be observed on September 22. The Beas and Ravi rivers, which flow through Amritsar district, face the threat of pollution caused by human activities. The Ravi river flows northwest of the district while the Beas river flows in the eastern parts of the district. Environmental activists are raising concerns over pollution of water in both the rivers through discharge of industrial waste, besides encroachments on river bed and illegal sand mining.
On May 18, 2018, large quantity of molasses leaked into the Beas and polluted its water. Discharge of effulents by the industry on the river banks and disposal of sewage in water has aggravated the situation. Prakash Singh Bhatty, an environmentalist said, “The expanding population has exerted pressure on forests, biodiversity and rivers thus endangering the environment.
To protect and rejuvenate depleting resources of the environment, the United Nations felt the need to make people aware of the harms of polluting water bodies. Every year, World Rivers Day is observed on the fourth Sunday of September to increase public awareness about rivers and promote their conservation.”
Gunbir Singh, president, Dalbir Foundation said, “The name Punjab itself denotes the state’s historic and cultural connection with rivers. We believe that as a community, our leadership and the successive governments have let down this irrefutable legacy of the state.” “Our rivers are cess pools of unprocessed sewage mixed with toxic effluents. At a time when underground aquifers have all but dried up, reliance on river waters will help humans to survive,” he said.
