The state of our rivers
Second CSE media briefing workshop on
rivers, river pollution and cleaning strategies
Chennai,
Dates to be announced soon
Rivers in India are revered, yet
severely polluted. They nurture cities and civilizations, but end up
receiving the waste and filth generated by them. The country has spent
Rs 2,310 crore on cleaning its rivers. However, this money has gone down
the drain as the state of most of these rivers has worsened.
The Cooum and Adyar rivers in Tamil Nadu are battling for survival.
Burdened with Chennai’s waste, the rivers are one of the most polluted
in India. In Chennai, the biological oxygen demand (BOD) load in Cooum
and Adyar is 39 and 14 times (respectively) more than the permissible
bathing limit. This is despite the fact that Chennai was given the
highest -- 11.4 per cent -- of the total funds sanctioned for river
cleaning programmes. Chennai also spent the maximum money -- Rs 335.12
crore -- on river cleaning. Despite this, it still contributes about 78
million litres per day of sewage to the Cooum.
The fact that this is the state of most of India’s rivers indicates that
there is something fundamentally wrong in the way the country is
managing its river cleaning programmes.
Keeping this in mind, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) invites
you to a two-day media briefing workshop in Chennai to understand the
condition of our rivers and the levels of pollution they face, to
examine existing river cleaning programmes, and discuss strategies that
could give the rivers a new lease of life. The Cooum and Adyar rivers
will be taken as representative cases. The workshop will bring together
river pollution experts, civil society representatives and government
officials to debate and demystify key issues.
Eligibility:
- The workshop is only open to journalists and media professionals
from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
- Seats are limited. We have the resources to support the travel and
accommodation of a few candidates on a first-come, first-served basis.
Therefore, please apply immediately
Last date for applying:
July 1, 2007
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