River activists march for action against Yamuna polluters

Agra, April 9 (IANS) Hundreds of river activists on Sunday evening held a march to demand action against polluters who have "killed" the Yamuna river.

Carrying placards with catchy slogans, the rallyists marched from the controversial Taj Heritage Corridor to the Etmauddaula view point park, raising slogans against the "murderers of Yamuna" which has now been declared a living entity by the Uttarakhand High Court.

River Connect Campaign activists said the state and the union governments should pressure the Haryana government to release water as directed by the National Green Tribunal.

"Water in the river is necessary to ensure the safety of historical monuments like the Taj Mahal and Etmauddaula and for Agra's water needs, the state government should immediately work on a barrage project so that there is water behind the Taj Mahal," said Devashish Bhattacharya.

The visual pollution in the vicinity of the monuments has to be controlled if tourism is to be promoted, added Ranjan Sharma, another activist.

Shravan Kumar Singh of the Rivers of the World Foundation said "successive governments have done nothing to save our rivers. Thousands of crores of rupees have been squandered away without discernible improvement in the sad state of the rivers".

River Yamuna should be recognised as a heritage entity to restore its past glory, said activist Prashant Pachauri.

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