‘Save Ghaggar' warriors do dirty work, but still get no help from officials

Time of India

5 hours ago

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Panchkula: With no support or action taken by the authorities concerned to ensure the good health of the Ghaggar River, a group of concerned residents under the 'Save Ghaggar' campaign hired five dedicated workers to clean a fixed patch of the riverbank next to Chatt Puja Ghat, removing tonnes of waste from the riverbank.
Until now, volunteers themselves use to clean the Ghaggar, but now they went one step further by collecting funds from within the group and hiring dedicated workers for better cleaning. The forum collected Rs 10,000.
"Along with them, numerous members of the Save River Ghaggar Campaign joined hands from time to time in the 45-day-long cleaning drive, which has just concluded now as the monsoon is around the corner. The garbage collected was segregated into two major heaps: one heap with idols, pictures, and mandirs of gods and goddesses, and the other heap with all the clothes, slippers, cement bags, red dupattas, and numerous such items.
The plastic and polythene collected were separately disposed of," shared Tapasya Sharma, co-founder of the Save Ghaggar campaign.
However, it faces a challenge that the MC does not pick the waste from the Ghaggar bank after it is taken out from inside the river.
"This initiative was undertaken as we got no support from the authorities concerned. In spite of numerous visits over the last three years, reminders, and complaints made to the MC office, DC office, HSVP, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, and the irrigation dept of Haryana about the deteriorating condition of the riverbank and the bed, no concrete steps were taken.
Even the katcha path leading to the river at different places in Panchkula is full of building and construction waste," said Tapasya.
Thus, the residents of the lively city of Panchkula have taken the onus on themselves to save their beloved River Ghaggar from turning into a dumping ground. "This initiative reflects our community's commitment to environmental stewardship," added Tapasya.
"Together, we have made a tangible difference in the health of our river while fostering a strong sense of camaraderie among residents.
Earlier, hardly any birds were visible around the riverbank, but now with regular cleaning, flocks of birds have started appearing, and that in itself is a healthy sign. This, however, does not mean that the river water is free from all adulterants. There are still numerous pollutants in the river water which may be entering the water through different mediums.
This cleaning drive is aimed at keeping the riverbank free from various leftovers," she said.
Another co-founder of the Save Ghaggar campaign, Mohit Gupta, recalled, "Uncle, why is the water of the river brown in colour? Our books always show water to be blue. This was a question so innocently put to me by a child during one of our cleaning drives. And I was left thinking about what to tell him."