116 signed up to become Ramganga Mitras from three blocks
of Moradabad District
Moradabad, Mundapandey
& Chhajalet saw active participation by over 175 villagers in the introductory
Ramganga Mitra meeting
December 27, 2013: Moradabad, Mundapandey & Chhajalet blocks of the
Moradabad District now have a brigade of Ramganga Mitras with over 116 people volunteering to become Friends of the River in the introductory
Ramganga conservation meetings organized by WWF-India and District
Administration of Moradabad. The meetings, which are a key component under ‘Ramganga
for Life, Life for Ramganga’ campaign, witnessed active participation by gram
pradhans, aaganwaadi workers, Government school teachers and local community
members. Shri Rakesh Kumar Pandey, Block
Development Officer (BDO) Mundapandey, Shri Sanjay Kumar, BDO Moradabad along
with Shrimati Dhankaur
Singhwal, BDO Chhajalet spearheaded these meetings in their respective blocks
along with WWF-India officials. All the three BDOs stressed that each person
who has signed up to become a Ramganga Mitra should reach out to maximum number
of people by actively engaging them in Ramganga Conservation activities.
The meetings which began with an overview on ‘Ramganga
for Life, Life for Ramganga’ campaign in the district also highlighted the key
threats to the river in the blocks and ways to restore it through adoption of sustainable water and agriculture management practices
as well as biodiversity practices, all leading to river conservation. The
discussions saw many participants coming forward to join the campaign and
volunteering to become Ramganga Mitras. “I would request my brothers from
different villages to come forward and support this noble cause. Our river
needs us, and it is time we all unite to work towards its restoration,” said
Shri. Haaji Sahab, an ex- gram pradhan from Sikandarpur Patti village during
the block meeting. The participants were also briefed on the proposed activity of
Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in 8 villages of these blocks, namely - Medinipur,
Baigampur, Chanderi Akbarpur, Khanpur Kasba, Gorakhpur, Sultanpur, Malakpur
Semli and Adalpur.
Screening of the documentary film in the meetings, which
highlighted the two realities of Ramganga – clean, pristine in the upper
reaches and polluted, ecologically dead in the lower reaches was hugely
successful in developing interest amongst the participants to know more about
their river. “There should be sufficient flows in the river so that the
remaining species could survive. As Ramganga MItras, we will take the required
steps to conserve the river by not throwing polythene into it,” added another
pradhan. Shrimati. Krishna Sagar, one the aaganwaadi workers said that
generating awareness on the issue of Ramganga conservation is the first and
most critical step towards its restoration.
The
meetings also provided a forum for an interactive session with the participants
on their prospective roles & responsibilities as Ramganga Mitras to work
towards Ramganga conservation. The participants of the meeting were briefed on
the WWF-India & District Administration’s initiative
of ‘Ramganga Mitra’, which is envisaged as a multi-stakeholder group that would
primarily work on issues related to the conservation of the River Ramganga.
“WWF-India along with District Administration
of Moradabad is keen to make Ramganga for Life, Life for Ramganga, a people’s
campaign - by engaging with maximum number of people, both from rural and urban
set up. Ramganga Mitra” has been conceptualized in order to create spaces for
engagement of the diverse stakeholders of the river so that they are able to
discuss and debate issues of shared concern and work towards formulating a
shared vision for the Ramganga”, added Shri. Suresh Babu, Director, River
Basins & Water Policy, WWF-India
*WWF-India’s
Rivers for Life programme is supported by HSBC Water Programme.
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