Sri Sri’s world culture fest took its toll on Yamuna banks, says panel
new delhi — In March last year the popular Indian guru, Sri Sri Ravishannkar’s Art of Living Foundation organised an international cultural festival on the banks of the Yamuna, a tributary of the Ganga, that flows through Delhi.
The three-day festival left in its wake a great deal of waste, a charge hotly denied by the Foundation.
The Yamuna in Delhi was once a mighty river. It is mostly dried up now, with its vast banks collecting plastic waste and other pollutants.
To assess the damages, the National Green Tribunal (NGT)had set up an experts’ panel, headed by Shashi Shekhar, secretary of ministry of water resources.
On Wednesday, the panel submitted its report to NGT, and said it would cost Rs42 crores to fix the damage.
The panel has recommended a two-pronged action plan, consisting of physical and biological rehabilitation. The first would cost around Rs28.73 crore and the rest would go to bill the biological part.
The Foundation, on its part, said the report was biased, adding that its legal team is looking into the panel’s report.
The panel said it would take at least 10 years for the suggested action to bear fruit. In addition to the project estimate, they said, there would be expenditure involved for monitoring experts for the stipulated period.
The 47-page report calculates that roughly 120 hectares to the West of the river and some 50 hectares to the East of the river have been impacted by the festival.
The Art of Living Foundation said they were a responsible organisation and that they were environmentally sensitive. The foundation’s spokesperson alleged that the report was “biased beyond a doubt.” The panel report said “the festival had completely destroyed” a considerable part of the riverfront area, which was the main site for the festival. “The ground is now totally levelled, compacted and hardened, and is devoid of water bodies or depressions, and devoid of vegetation as well.”
This is chiefly due to vast amount of earth and debris dumped to construct ramps for access from the main road. The panel also said flora and fauna too have been wiped out.
Cultural festivals are all fine, said a river activist. “But if they end up damaging natural resources, maybe we should take a second look at what their real impact is.”
Meanwhile, summer is here in Delhi. And it appears as if the river could do with a glass of water.