*Revival of Yamuna and Okhla Canal discussed in a national online program on rivers*
On the occasion of release of a book ‘Rejuvenation of Rivers’ at Stockholm authored by the Waterman of India and Magsaysay Award winner Dr Rajendra Singh and chair Indian Himalayan River Basins Council Dr Indira Khurana, an online interfaith discussion was jointly organized by World Peace Organisation (WPO), IHRBC and IPRBC in the forenoon of 1 September. Besides, Dr Khurana, Maulana Shahin Qasmi of WPO, Narendra Chugh and Sanjay Singh, the Convener of Volunteers of Change (VoC) Dr Abdul Rashid Agwan was also a key speaker.
Dr Rajendra Singh was also to speak as the chief guest but due to the connectivity issue, he couldn’t.
Dr Agwan introduced the scope, scheme and vision for the rejuvenation of Yamuna River and the vestigial part of Agra Canal in the Okhla area. The Co-Convener of VoC Aslam Ahmad and some associates of the platform also joined.
Participants from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, etc shared their experiences and issues related to different rivers they are engaged with.
The event coincided with the World Water Week.
The program was moderated by Dr Indira Khurana and hosted by Maulana Shahin Qasmi of an Okhla-based NGO, World Peace Organisation.
Dr Indira Khurana assured to share the soft copy of the book with the participants. The book narrates the experiences of revival of two rivers, Agrani in Karnataka-Maharshtra and Sherni in eastern Rajasthan, by the efforts of Tarun Bharat Sangh.