Chandigarh, 4 September: Rally for Rivers, a massive rally to save the rivers of India, was flagged off by V.P Singh Badnore Governor Punjab along with Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Cabinet Minister for Environment and Forests from Coimbatore. The one-month long rally, a brainchild of Jaggi Vasudev Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation, will culminate in New Delhi on October 2.
Rally for Rivers is a nationwide campaign launched by the Isha Foundation. According to the spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the idea behind organizing a month long drive is mainly to spread awareness amongst people about the need to conserve water especially the depleting river waters.“Everyone who consumes water must Rally for Rivers” said Sadhguru. Sadhguru will himself drive the entire distance from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas between September 3 and October 2, covering 16 states and 23 events in major cities, covering a stretch of 7000 km across India.
After flagging off the Rally, Mr. Badnore accompanying Sadhguru, who drove the vehicle himself, said that ISHA Foundation has given an appropriate platform to the people of the country to work together in preserving the most important commodity i.e. water. He called upon the people to make this massive movement a success in the larger public interest.
Expressing concern over the scarcity of water in the times to come, Mr. Badnore said that it is evident that 25% of India is turning into desert and in 15 years; we may have only half the water we need for our survival. India’s rivers are undergoing a drastic change. Permanent rivers are becoming seasonal. Many of the smaller rivers have already vanished. Flood as well as drought are becoming increasingly frequent, as rivers turn unruly during the monsoon and vanish once the rainy season is over. Now is the time that we should act and preserve Water for our coming generations, emphasised the Governor. Star cricketer, Mr. Virender Sehwag, Rural Development & Municipal Administration Minister Tamil Nadu, Mr. Parimal Rai, Adviser to Administrator, Chandigarh, Mr. J.M.Balamurugan Secretary to Governor Punjab, Mr. Thiru S.P. Velumani, Women’s cricket team captain – Mithali Raj, Formula One race car driver – Narain Karthikeyan were present amongst other dignitaries including the rally partner – Mahindra Group Senior Vice President – Veejay Ram Nakra and Technical partners – Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Vice Chancellor Dr. K. Ramasamy.
