River Plight on Urban Platform

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110620/jsp/jharkhand/story_14135136.jsp

 

River plight on urban platform

PRADUMAN CHOUBEY

A speaker at the seminar in Dhanbad on Sunday. (Gautam Dey) Dhanbad, June 19: Social workers, thinkers, writers, academics and artists raised their collective voice against pollution in river Damodar. Damodar Jiwika Bachao Abhiyan organised a daylong meet at Gandhi Seva Sadan today, where participants discussed the restoration of the river that is fast disappearing under the onslaught of industrialisation, urbanisation and pollution, They also raised the issue of livelihood and culture of villagers dependent on it. Renowned Khortha litterateur Shivnath Pramanik, the chief guest on the occasion, said egalitarian society, a hallmark of civilisation, originated on the banks of the Damodar. Pramanik, who is credited with writing more than two-dozen books in Khortha, including Damodarak Korang (In the lap of river Damodar) said: “Unplanned industrialisation has caused the original culture of the people living on its banks to simply disappear. Now, their very existence is at stake.” He held “irresponsible industrialisation” responsible for the loss of rural livelihood and cited instances to prove his point. “Untreated effluents released by industries, including Damodar Valley Corporation, Bharat Coking Coal Limited, Bokaro Steel Limited and Central Coal Fields Limited, contribute to pollution in the river, which in turn is harmful for cattle,” he said. “It is a vicious cycle.” Writers Ramchandra Rawani and Shanti Bharat also expressed their views at the seminar. Many participants said farmers, unlike earlier, couldn’t produce vegetables for their own consumption. Earlier, markets of Jharia, Karkend, Katras and Bhaga bandh were well stocked with vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, brinjal and tomato. Jivan Jagannath, a participant at the seminar spoke about the effect of pollution on aquatic life. “Villagers can’t fish for a living as Damodar’s aquatic life has dwindled drastically,” he said. He added that unplanned industrialisation ate away into the cultural identity of the area. “Traditional festivals like Karma, Sohrai, Baundi and Sarhul are slowly losing their relevance,” he said.

Introduction

Welcome to Damodar Bokaro. This site is devoted to the tales, legends, stories, music, history and life around the Damodar. The river Damodar is one of the most important sub basin systems in the Ganga-Brahmaputra catchment area. The Damodar basin is a major provider of water and energy to large industries and cities in West Bengal and Jharkhand.

The oldest dam, the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), several steel plants such as the Bokaro Steel Plant(BSP) and  collieries are situated in and around its catchment area. With this excessive human interference and threats of water scarcity due to climate change(reduced precipitation levels and high evapo transpiration) coupled with unprecedented industrial activity, not only has the Damodar come to be known as the world’s most polluted river, it is also now a slowly ‘dying’ one.

We bring to you a journey and tales of resistance, the cultural expressions and the rich natural and cultural heritage and life around the river.