Rivers are in spate in many places, but some are almost on the verge of vanishing . To dam or not to dam has been a much-talked-about issue across the globe. Damming meet the drinking and irrigation needs of people, but the social and environmental costs such as displacement, rehabilitation and submergence are tough to deal with.
The Regional Science Centre, a unit of National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), is conducting an exhibition on “Rivers – The Lifeline” at its Alipiri campus in Tirupati, which deals with various issues like the birth of civilisations on river banks, rivers becoming cradles of biodiversity to provide agricultural bounty to the societies. Chittoor district Collector V. Seshadri inaugurated the exhibition last week.
The science centre's project coordinator K. Madan Gopal explained the students the various features of the expo. The exhibition illustrates the gradual melt downof the 30 km long Gangetic glacier, which is a cause for great concern.
The industrial effluents have have wreacked havoc on the Ganges, which, sadly enough has degraded from an “ancient symbol of purity” to an “epitome of pollution”.
Another lesser known issue is shrinking of wetlands due to extensive damming that has resulted in the extinction of many species. The case study of Iran and Iraq, where 20, 000 sq km of wetlands was reduced to 15 per cent of their original size in ten years, due to siphoning off water from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers explained the issue.
Water conflicts
The expo also deals with the sharing of water among the riparian states, which is yet another contentious issue. The sharing of Mandovi River water among Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa; the Periyar water between Kerala and Tamil Nadu; and Krishna water between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
Do we have a role in averting the impending disaster? Of course, yes! In this International Decade for Action on Global Water Issues (2005-2015), people's participation makes a lot of difference.
The Students, Governments ,voluntary organisations and the general public can save the rivers from drying up by informing, debating, taking up scientific analysis and livelihood issues for discussion and forming people's alliances.
For more details contact Science Centre at 0877 – 2286202 .
