NEW DELHI, India — Water water everywhere, but not a drop that was fit to drink. Schoolchildren who joined Greenpeace and pollution-impacted communities at today’s World Water Day rally in New Delhi would never dare to take a sip from the pots of water surrounding them today. Whether it was the murky yellow water from Eloor’s Periyar River, or the greenish-brown version from the cheruvus (lakes) in Patancheru, or the smelly, cloudy, unmistakably chemical brew from Bhopal, it was quite clear that this water was unfit for consumption. There couldn’t have been a more poignant reminder to the fact that for many communities across our country, there is no other option.
Activists and pollution impacted community at the 'Bahut Ho Gaya' rally organised by Greenpeace to mark the World Water Day in New Delhi on March 22, 2005.
The rally took on as many colours as the contaminated water -
students in school uniform marched along with the women from
Bhopal, Orissa fish-workers tried out slogans in Malayalam and
oft-repeated slogans from each community seamlessly merged with
impromptu street performances by children from Kutumb Foundation
and Prabhaat - groups that joined the rally today to express their
solidarity with these communities. The entire gamut of emotions was
expressed - from pent-up rage at apathetic authorities to gusty
exhortations and calls to action - all finding expression in the
single phrase "Bahut Ho Gaya, Bahut Ho Gaya!"
The
words soon became a resounding chant, echoing after slogans in six
different languages, as each community marched to the beat of their
own oft-repeated battle-cries. These are the communities who have
fought long and hard, in groups and as individuals, against the
contamination of their community's resources.
Collective campaigning by these communities has resulted in
clear-cut directives from the Honorable Supreme court, adding
weight to the communities' long-standing demands. Nonetheless,
there has still been no action from the government to ensure that
the Supreme Court directives are implemented and that the pollution
of our water, land and air is stopped.
At
the end of the rally, a Memorandum was submitted to the President
and Prime Minister of India. Endorsed by each of the communities
participating in today's rally, the memorandum summed up the
present status eloquently, in the hope that it would elicit a
favourable response:
Our fields lie fallow, there are no fish in the river; the water
we drink, the food we eat, the air we breathe are all poisoned,
there are chemicals racing through our blood, in mother's breast
milk, in the umbilical cord that sustains life.
On
this World Water day for us is not about river-linking or
water-harvesting or lip-service to Saving Water, but about its
life-giving quality, purity and abundance. Both of which are
threatened irreversibly, in clear violations of our constitutional
rights as Indian Citizens.
We are demanding that the Government should take immediate
action and
*
Shut down Polluting Factories violating Supreme Court's directives
on Hazardous Waste management (Order and Judgement dated 14 October
2003 in writ petition 687 of 1995)
* Rehabilitate Pollution impacted Workers, Communities and
remediate their Environment and ensure that the guilty corporations
take full responsibility and bear liability for the costs of the
same.
* Revamp the Pollution Control Boards both at the Center and the
State level to ensure transparency, rigor and honesty. -->