4th International River Festival on Narmada-Tawa confluence

Newsroom24x7 Desk

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged the people to take a pledge to make rivers pollution-free. He said that rivers are worshipped in India but at the same time people also pollute them

The Chief Minister was addressing the 4th International River Festival at Bandrabhan, the confluence of Narmada and Tawa rivers in Hoshangabad district today.

Vidhan Sabha Speaker Dr. Sitasaran Sharma, PWD Minister Sartaj Singh, retired Supreme Court judge Justice Dharmadhikari, Swami Chidananda, Amrit Lal Begad, RSS Sar Karyawahak Bhaiyyaji Joshi, Member of Parliament Anil Madhav Dave, several other public representatives and environmentalists were present on the occasion.

Earlier Chouhan and his wife Sadhana Singh performed pooja (offered prayers) of an earthen Kalash (pitcher)  filled with water brought from different rivers across the country.

Chouhan said that government cannot succeed in environmental conservation and making rivers pollution-free until everyone works to meet this objective. The Chief Minister lauded the efforts being made by Anil Dave for river conservation. He drew attention towards destruction of environment and the larger issue of climate change. he also talked of the rich aqua life and the presence of a large number of fish, turtles and crocodiles that were earlier found in rivers.

Chouhan asked the civic bodies to stop sewers from falling into rivers and said that people should start using organic fertilizers and pesticide. He announced that the government will be ensuring polythene-free Simhastha at Ujjain next year. Before Simhastha, a national seminar will be organised on conservation and environment and its conclusions will be published as Simhastha Declaration. The Chief Minister asked the people to raise the slogan “Har Har Narmade”. He also released the logo of a festival to be held at Kerala’s Neel river.

Dave asked media to join the conservation movement and made an appeal to the people asking them to cooperate in making rivers pollution-free by spreading the message through through social networking platforms. Parmarth Niketan Rishikesh’s Swami Chidananda especially lauded the efforts of the chief minister. He said that the government should enact laws for conservation of rivers.