It is high time that general public and even Governmentdepartments took steps to save water or Odisha would face severe water scarcity after 20 years, Jala Adhikar Abhiyan (JAA) Convenor Panchanana Kanungo said here on Sunday.
The ‘right to water’ and the right of access to ‘safe drinking water’ have been read as a part of ‘Right to life’ under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. JAA demands that the right of the citizen should be protected by the State, he added.
The JAA held a deliberation with members of civil society organisations, NGO activists, including from science, technology and environment exports, participated.
Environmentalist Prafulla Samantara stated that Bhubaneswar is going to be a critically polluted city and the JAA would not compromise with the environment. He said, “If the Odisha Government has fund crisis, the Union Government must help them and environment should not suffer in the name of political differences. The Odisha Government needs to form a nodal agency to study, especially on water pollution and control.
Eminent social activist Jagadananda Panda said that they would not let plastic, thermocol, waster, garbage and debris to be thrown into water bodies anymore as these are hazardous. In 2015, samples of water were taken from the Daya river out of which 70 per cent had uranium content and were fully contaminated.
Panda also added that Bhubaneswar has witnessed several seminars, campaigns and programs based on protection, conservation and judicious use of water, however, “the mockery in Bhubaneswar slum is that when the public talk of water, it is still acute scarcity of drinking water for mere survival.” Odisha government should have to established methods and applied to artificially recharge groundwater reservoirs in various parts of the state.
Among others former Rajya Sabha MP Rama Chandra Khuntia, scribe Rabi Das, former Minister Niranjan Patnaik, water activist Ranjan Panda, convenor of the programme Prativa Das were present.