Waterman calls for rejuvenation of lakes, rivers in North Andhra

Visakhapatnam: Water inflow from Simhachalam hill range is comparatively less contaminated and hence they are a good source of fresh water for Mudasarlova reservoir, Waterman of India Rajendra Singh said on Monday.

Concluding his three-day visit to Visakhapatnam as part of the 'North Andhra rivers, tanks and reservoirs rejuvenation yatra' on Monday, Founder of Jal Biradiri Rajendra Singh said the team was able to cover Mudasarlova, Meghadrigedda, water tanks at Lakkavarapu Kota, Kalyanalova dam and its catchment area, Gostani river, among others as part of the yatra.

He said water outlets that reach Mudasarlova reservoir were blocked. After inspecting four water streams that reach Mudasarlova, Rajendra Singh pointed out the quarrying work carried out at some of these points, colonies that have come up, among other reasons block the water flow to the reservoir.

He was accompanied by former Union Energy Secretary EAS Sarma, national convener of Jal Biradiri Bolisetty Satyanarayana, Stanley George of Good Earth, Bengaluru, among others.

Singh suggested the streams that join Mudasarlova reservoir should be cleared so as to take full advantage of the monsoon season apart from clearing heaps of soil dumped near the reservoir on war footing.

He mentioned that some of the water outlets near Simhachalam hill range need to be redesigned and recommended a study on the same so that maximum quantity of water reaches the reservoir.

About the canals through which water flows at Kambalakonda, Singh stated that it was highly contaminated with sewage and plastic waste. Because of the colonies around, he observed that the flow of water through canals has been restricted. The environmentalist suggested that dumping of waste at north-west of Mudasarlova should be stopped. Setting up of sewage treatment plant, clearing of waste from canals, controlling unauthorised constructions and encroachments, restricting construction work at eco-sensitive zones, restoring encroached water bodies were among his other suggestions.

He said that he was impressed with the State government's decision for the demolition of unauthorised buildings on river bunds. However, he pointed out that the Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu hardly paid any heed to his pleas.

Listing out his observations, Singh also brought the violations to the notice of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy through a letter. The letter said that the toxic wastes were emitted from Jindal, Maa Mahamaya Industries Ltd and Steel Exchange Industries and that they use enormous amount of groundwater through borewells which eventually lead to depletion of groundwater. The letter also stated that the companies encroached tanks, lands that belong to government and agriculture land has been used for dumping industrial waste containing hazardous chemicals.

He appealed to the Chief Minister to restore all the water bodies of the State, consider concrete measures to rejuvenate them sans encroachment and pollution.