Rally for Rivers is an awareness campaign led by Sadhuguru Jaggi Vasudev, the founder of Isha Foundation. It’s aimed at spreading awareness about the depletion of rivers in India which is leading to water scarcity.
In the words of Sadhguru, “This is not a protest. This is not an agitation. This is a people’s campaign to raise awareness that our rivers are depleting. Everyone who consumes water must Rally for Rivers.”
Experts in the Team
The rally consists of experts from hydrology, hydrogeology, water, soil, and agriculture departments. The team is working on a set of recommendations aimed at river rejuvenation and the report will be submitted to the central as well as state governments.
As per the experts, the solution is to plant more and more trees on each river bank which will help in holding the soil and thus the water. This water will be released drop-by-drop throughout the year, turning into rivulets. These will turn into streams and ultimately become rivers.
Rally for the Rivers Journey
Image Source: isha.sadhguru.org
The Rally for River was flagged off in Coimbatore on September 3 by Union Minister of environment, forests & climate change Dr. Harsh Vardhan. After passing through several cities and states, it will be concluded on October 2 in New Delhi.
The rally has already visited places like Kanyakumari, Pondicherry, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Lucknow, etc. Currently, the rally has reached Rajasthan and later will head towards Chandigarh followed by Haridwar and then finally it will reach New Delhi.
Statistical Facts about River Depletion
Image Source: isha.sadhguru.org
The official page of Isha Foundation presents some serious facts and figures that indicate the urgency of saving water from depletion. As per the estimations, 25% of our country is turning into desert and in the next 15 years, humans are going to have only half of the water that is needed for survival.
Moving on to the poor conditions of rivers, Kaveri has lost 40% of its flow while the situation is worse for Krishna and Narmada which have lost around 605 of their flow. Moreover, calamities like floods and droughts have become very frequent which suggests that the lives of future generations are already threatened due to climate change, rising population, and urban development.
4 Phases of the Rally
The rally is a 4-phase program that not only spreads awareness but also aims to implement the solution and bring out the change. The first phase consists of on-ground activities like arranging writing, art, and video making competitions in schools and colleges.
The second phase is the rally taking place through public events. In the third phase, the rally members will be working with the government for policy pronouncement. Finally, the fourth phase will be dedicated towards the implementation and monitoring of the proposed policies.
Support gained by the Rally
Image Source: isha.sadhguru.org
The Rally for Rivers has garnered full support from various politicians, actors, sportspersons, etc. The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have given assurance that they will be the first states to implement policies suggested by Sadhguru.
Besides, U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Rajasthan MLA Kalicharan have also come forward in support of the rally. Talking about celebrities, players like Mithali Raj, Prakash Padukone, Mohammad Kaif, and actors like Dia Mirza, Raveena Tondon, and many more have shown their support.
