Yamuna Vigil--Day 8--Letter to Lt. Governor, Delhi

Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan <yamunajiye@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 6:54 AMSubject: YJA - Yamuna Vigil
To: ltgov@nic.in

To,

Sri Tejendra Khanna
Hon’ble Lt Governor
DELHI

Respected Sir,

Greetings from Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan.

Sir, as planned and informed we have been keeping a vigil at the HNZ Bridge for last six days now. The vigil during which volunteers exhibit banners and placards on the either side of the bridge soliciting citizen’s cooperation in not further polluting the river Yamuna and for sending across conservation messages for the river to one and all. The volunteers also request such people who wish to dump things into the river from the bridge to desist from doing so and to hand them over for safe disposal. Large amount of such material is being collected on a daily basis. The organic element (garlands etc) therein is interned in pits for composting and the non organic one (mainly polythese, paper etc) is stored for recycling in collaboration with the solid waste management unit of the Centre for Environment Education (CEE).

Sir, we have observed that since the vigil started the PWD has started to repair the fence at places where few unscrupulous people had cut windows in the fence. (Please see the enclosed pictorial report from yesterday). We commend the PWD on this step and hope that such repair work would not remain limited to this bridge alone, but include all other bridges (ITO bridge in particular) which are also misused by ill guided people to throw things into the river.

We wish to draw your kind attention to the fact that one of the most polluting period for the river is round the corner (Puja festivities) when large number of people are expected to converge onto the bridge and the river to put things into it. We accordingly urge that the officials of the relevant agencies (PWD and MCD) may kindly be directed to

a) Complete the repair of the fence on the bridge before the festivities begin during the later part of the current (September) month
b) MCD may be asked to set up puja samagri collection centres on either side of the bridges (HNZ and ITO bridge in particular) and DND authorities be asked to arrange similarly, so that the people are encouraged to hand over these left overs to these collection centres, rather throw them into the river from the bridge/s.

We are sure, based on our experience of around a week of the Yamuna vigil, that once these steps have been taken much pollution load could be taken away from the already beleaguered river in the city.

It may be reiterated that it is long over due that the MCD and the DDA took steps in accordance with a Court order that required them to identify sites and provide for puja samagri collection centres (enclosures) along the river in the city, so that the river does not get polluted from such activities, which due to the religious sentiments and beliefs of the people cannot just be wished away.

We hope that our request as made above based on field experience of the Yamuna vigil would get due attention of your honour.

With warm regards,

Manoj Misra
Convenor

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