Perennial rivers will vanish soon: Jaggi Vasudev
CHANDIGARH: Coimbatore-based Isha Foundation head Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, who was here to promote his initiative ‘Rally for Rivers’, on Friday said the country was heading towards a disaster since most of the perennial rivers have become seasonal and they are most likely to vanish if the trend continues.
Governors of Punjab and Haryana VP Singh Badnore and Kaptan Singh Solanki, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher were present on the occasion. In their address, the four supported the cause. Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh was expected to attend the event but his visit was cancelled at the last minute. He was represented by wife Preneet Kaur, former minister of state for external affairs.
Sadhguru appealed to the people to make the initiative a mass movement, after which the Centre could be approached to formulate a policy to save water. “It everything goes fine, it will take 15-20 years when the results will be seen and water flows in the rivers would rise,” he said.
He said in 50 years water flowing in Narmada has depleted by 60%, Krishna (70%), Cauveri (40%) and Ganga by (44%). On many states fighting water wars with their neighbours, he said they have to come together to arrive at a consensus.
Dams are not the best way to conserve water in a tropical country like India where summer temperature rises above 35 degree celsius and evaporation is huge. “But when these dams were planned, country was had different challenges, it was to fight hunger and to become food grain sufficient such measures were required,” he said, adding that now dismantling these dams would lead to unrest.
PUNJAB SIGNS PACT
The Punjab government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Isha Foundation, the promoter of rally, for rivers’ initiatives. As per the MoU, the government would work with the foundation for conservation of ecology.