Holy River Kabini and unholy practices

On 25th March, at about 7.30 am, a group of concerned people assembled on the bank of River Kabini at Nanjangud, in front of Ayyappa Temple. Hunsur based youth Mr Sanjay was explaining about why they had assembled there. Though Kabini has been considered holy river since Nanjudeshwara (Lord Shiva) is at Nanjangud, there is no program to protect the river from its decomposition. Several memoranda have been submitted to Temple authority, Municipality, state government and central government by various organisations and groups so far. Nothing has happened to this effect. The locals and the worshippers who come from outside use the water for bathing and washing. The river is considered as dumping area for the people. They throw their abandoned clothes and other materials into the womb of river.

Save Our Earth Club of Hunsur, led by Sanjay initiated this campaign to clean Kabini. They had come prepared. Interestingly, the Municipal Chairman was motivated to get into the river and remove the dirt from the river bed. College students, Rotary members, and other citizens joined him.

However, the untouched area was the sewage that comes to the river exactly near the Ayyappa temple. How can you clean the sewage? I asked Sanjay. He said it would be difficult. We cannot expect the students would take up such task. The municipality only has to remove it.

The government announces towns but never tries to make a scientific and viable town plan. Kabini is the life line of Nanjangud and T Narsipur. However, the town is harming and suffocating the river with its sewage and other waste. On the upstream, the industrials waste is dumped to the river and downstream, the organic waste!

Can we see any small or big town in the country that does not pollute its rivers? Earlier, locals used to dump their organic waste into the river which did not do much harm since the quantum of waste was little. Now it comes in huge quantity, through centralised sewage pipes collecting all the town waste. How can and how long the river afford it?

People in the area are now indifferent to stinking smell, pollution, unhygiene practices on the river bank. I had taken my 12-year old daughter, Priyamvada to participate in the campaign and she was surprised to see such a huge quantity of waste in the river bed, which has never been taught in her school!