The Rispana and Bindal rivers have degenerated to such an extent that these riverbeds now consists mainly of various types of waste. This was revealed in a status report on these rivers prepared by the volunteers of Making a Difference by Being the Difference (MAD) group. The group released the status report on the condition of Bindal and Rispana rivers on Tuesday. This report has been documented by MAD on the basis of over half a dozen treks undertaken by the group members of the two rivers.
The river bed of Bindal is dotted with domestic waste, effluents, plastics, animal carcasses and human excreta. Besides, encroachment has led to serious environmental hazards The people living in the slums are also being affected, the report says.
Asked how far the encroachment has spread, Abhijay Negi, founder president, MAD, replied: “It has spread close to 20 kilometers in Bindal and there is every chance that it will continue.”
It is learnt that the condition of Rispana is even worse than that of Bindal. Apart from the human and animal feces common all along the river, a lot of drains is directly flowing into Rispana with toxic effluents. Considerable construction is also taking place on the river bed near Shiv Mandir in Adhoiwala.
“A lot of construction is going on the sides of the river. Houses are being constructed to rehabilitate the slum dwellers living on the river bed. Human settlements are common everywhere and a large amount of de-siltation is taking place consequently.” he added.
“It is particularly tragic for Rispana since the river carries considerable volume of water which is lost due to pollution. We are saddened seeing a beautiful stream become a sewer.” said Negi
He further said they would send copies of the status report to chief development officer, district magistrate, mayor and some others and demand strong and prompt action to stem the tide. He also said that on MAD’s request, the present Chief Minister Harish Rawat had asked National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) Roorkee to conduct a study to re-evaluate Dehradun’s streams when he was the Union cabinet minister for water resources. The study later showed that the revival was indeed possible.
“We just want the state government to understand that it is its responsibility to revive these two rivers. Unless they step in they would be lost forever due to unplanned urbanization,” he said.