Shrinking Rivers Will Turn India Turn Into A Desert: Sadhguru

Eminent social activist spearheading the nation-wide Rally for Rivers campaign, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, appreciated the efforts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments in protecting the States’ water bodies, and increasing the green cover through various government schemes.

Rivers and Farmer Suicides

He however pointed out that India is losing more lives in farmer suicides due to paucity of water than lives lost in war on both sides. Nearly 3 lakh farmers have committed suicide in the last 3 years. Addressing intellectuals from various walks of life at a discussion organized by Isha Foundation in collaboration with The Siasat Daily and social organization COVA in Hyderabad on Friday morning, the globally acclaimed Yogi and best-selling author, who is road rallying from Kanyakumari to Himalayas to create awareness about the campaign admonished “no amount of wealth, stock markets or industries can save our life, but water.”

From Peninsula To A Desert

“If we do not act now, nearly 25% of Indian will turn into a desert with soil losing moisture to become sand. States like Punjab, Haryana, parts of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu among others are already losing organic content in soil, and have only 0.05% moisture against 2% measure set by UN to gauge soil’s fertility”, he added.

While the melting glaciers of Polar Regions can be met as a global challenge, the growing paucity of water in India can be met by forest fed rivers. The campaign proposes plantation of forests in government land, and fruit trees in private land. Sadhguru’s Isha foundation is working to involve citizenry, political parties and governments across the states towards protecting rivers and planting “a kilometre of green cover across each side of the river”.

Such efforts, he says, according to scientists, will “facilitate increase in soil fertility, prevent soil erosion, and increase the chances of rain thereby bringing river more waters as only 4% of water in India is glacier-fed and the remaining majority is forest-fed.”

Shrinking Rivers:

“The Cauveri river stretching 807kms, stopped 170kms short of the ocean in Tamil Nadu. The Krishna river hasn’t touched the ocean for 3 years in a row,” he lamented.

Alarmed over the eroding interest in farming families with regard to agriculture, Sadhguru said “in a country where agriculture is the major occupation, less than 15% families want their children to grow up into farmers” as inadequacy of water is leading to suicides. The campaign will further employment opportunities for “India’s most significant achievement – its farming community which despite being mostly under-literate, helps feed 1.3 million in the country.”

Declining Production:

Nearly 17% of the Pulses, which are an important food in India, are being imported from other countries as our ability to grow food is depleting. In the next 40 years, 60% of the soil in India will be uncultivable if the situation continues.

Speaking on the occasion, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Mahmood Ali said “Chief Minister KCR has sanctioned 1700 crore rupees to save water bodies.” The State government is diligently working to improve the green cover by planting a whopping 291 crore trees across the State, and make it the largest plantation drive in the country”.

The Deputy Chief Minister mentioned that the government, through its Mission Kakatiya, is trying to save nearly 44000 lakes across the State. He also said the dearth of water in rural India was coercing farmers to commit suicide as water from excessive rainfall was not being preserved.

Religion Forbids Excessive Usage

Speaking on the importance of water in Islam, eminent Islamic scholar Mufti Sadiq Mohiuddin Faheem said “the Quranic verses and teachings of Prophet Muhammed PBUH prohibit the excessive use of water”. Prophet Muhammed PBUH had instructed against excessive usage of water even if one were performing ablution, the religious act that requires Muslims to cleanse their body parts before prayers, on the banks of a river.

“The Prophet used to utilize a little over a litre of water for ablution and roughly 4 litres for bathing, and advised against polluting water or contaminating it even with human wastes,” he added.

Recollecting the affluent flow in Musi river from his childhood days, Mufti Sadiq Mohiuddin called upon the State government to introspect into the depleting water levels and rising contamination of the historic Musi river and undertake its rejuvenation. He called upon the general public to rise over the divides of religion, community, caste and creed to protect rivers from drying up.

Government-Proof Policy

A 700-odd pages policy document on preserving and protecting rivers is being prepared by subject matter experts. It will be presented before the Central government, and once approved will be made publicly available.”

The rally across the 16 states, according to Sadhguru, is an effort to make different political parties across different states, concur on a common policy for saving rivers. If the campaign can garner 30 crore votes, it will be equivalent to 40 per cent of the electorates, and survive through the political transitions warranted by periodic change of government.

The rally was flagged off from Coimbatore on 3^rd September and will traverse through 16 states concluding with Delhi. We need 30 crore votes to make the campaign last through periodic transitions that governments undergo after every electoral term. The rally will be held in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Indore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Haridwar before it reaches Delhi, said Sadhguru.

Hyderabad Expresses Solidarity

Intellectuals of society from various walks of life including scientists, doctors, academicians, Chevella MP Mr.Konda Vishweshar Reddy, Editor – Siasat Daily Mr. Zahid Ali Khan, Mr. Amir Ali Khan, Mr. Zafar Javeed, Dr. Mir Akbar Ali Khan, Dr. Rafeeq, Islamic scholars from different schools of thought among others participated in the event to express solidarity with the nation-wide campaign.

Water Crisis By 2070

Earlier, Mr. Mazhar Hussain, Executive Director of COVA presented a PowerPoint slideshow conceived by former President of India A P J Abdul Kalam on future generations suffering from water crises. The presentation, portrayed as a letter written by father to his son in 2070, highlighted how water scarcity will inhibit human intellectual ability, physical appearance, and lead to exponential increase in unemployment, pollution levels and health hazards.

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