Yamuna basin rivers cry for attention

By Brij Khandelwal
Agra, June 15 Half a dozen tributaries of river Yamuna in Agra district, have died without a drop of water. These rivers need to be dredged and desilted ahead of the monsoon season, so that the vast rural hinterland bordering Rajasthan can revive its agriculture and recharge underground reserves.

Activists in the Taj city have launched a campaign to rejuvenate these rain-fed tributaries of the Yamuna basin.

According to them, the streams flowing down from Rajasthan hills have dried up, reducing the whole area into a vast wasteland. Crops have been hit and there is an acute shortage of water supply in the villages.

The deserted capital of Mughal emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri, suffers from water shortage, and the process of desertification towards Agra has been accelerated.

The Terah Mori dam along the ridge of Fatehpur Sikri lies parched without a drop of water.

Similarly, other streams like Parvati, Utangan, Kivad, Vaan Ganga, that enter Agra district from Rajasthan side, have dried up, adversely affecting agricultural operations in the area. All these streams originate in the Karauli and Sawai- Madhopur districts of Rajasthan, meander around Bharatpur and Dholpur districts before entering Agra.

Green activists Anil Sharma, Rajiv Saxena, Aslam Salim, Shiromani Singh, representing the civil society of Agra have demanded urgent talks between Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department officials to work out a time- bound framework for drawing up a mechanism for sharing water of these rivers.

Anil Sharma accused the Rajasthan government of stopping all the water by building barrages and bunds on these rivers.

"Not a drop was being discharged in these rivers for the villages in Agra district. This was clearly against the spirit of federalism. The water table in the whole region had gone down perilously low by hundreds of feet and conventional crops had been badly hit," Sharma said.

The Agra Civil Society members have interacted with the Chairperson of the Agra District Board, Manju Bhadauria, who has promised to take up the matter at the highest level. They have demanded a water sharing agreement between the two neighbouring states.

The members said the rain water that accumulates in the "bandnis" needs to be restored by building a dam on the Utangan river.

The Rajasthan government has built the Chiksana, Vakola and Khatua dams. If the river system is revived, there will be enough water in Fatehabad, Kheragarh and Shamshabad blocks of Agra. In fact water can reach the Taj Ganj area in Agra city.

Experts say inter-state river water agreements need to be revisited to ensure that downstream cities receive an equitable and reliable share of water from inter-state river basins. These agreements can help prevent conflicts over water. They can also ensure that water is used sustainably and the developmental activities are compatible with the needs of other states.

Activist Sharma said, "This agreement can also protect local ecosystems, improve water quality and also guarantee that the precious resource of water is available for future generations."