Agra, Aug 25 (IANS): The month of August this year has been particularly good for the smaller rivers in the Yamuna basin of the Agra region. The recent flood and copious rains in the hills have rejuvenated the river system that had been reduced to vast stretches of wasteland in past years.
"Smaller streams flowing out of Rajasthan hills have been neglected and the old structures built by the British to irrigate the area have been reduced to ruins. Once the whole Braj area was full of forests because of the extensive irrigational facilities but over the years, successive state governments have allowed neglect of the irrigational network that was fed by these smaller rivers in the district," Civil Society members said in a report to the district authorities.
River activists in Agra have demanded that check dams be immediately restored or built to conserve rainwater.
Anil Sharma, president of the Civil Society of Agra, a NGO, said: "A dam should be built near the triangle where Utangan river merges with Yamuna river at Rehavali Village in Fatehabad tehsil of Agra. During low flooding in Yamuna, water flows back into River Utangan and it reaches 20 km, beyond Arnota. When Yamuna recedes, water flows back. Utangan flows 100 km in Agra district fed from Bandanis of Jagner through Kivad river.”
Rajiv Saxena, senior journalist and now river activist said: “This backlash of water needs to be conserved by constructing a two way Dam. When water enters Utangan, gates should be opened and when Yamuna recedes, the gate should be closed. Plus this Dam will help in conserving the water of Jagner Bandanis. Low flooding happens at least four times during the monsoon period. Hence this water needs to be conserved for year-round usage. When it backlashes the depth of water is around 13 ft.
Activists in their report to the state government said: “This surplus water can be used to recharge the groundwater, irrigation, and provide for drinking water for the whole year. This stretch extends to 35 km. Water can be supplied through a pipeline or a canal to the entire Taj Ganj area and the Fatehabad Road tourist complex which has hundreds of small and big hotels that are presently extracting groundwater. This water will meet the drinking water needs of Fatehabad, Shamshabad, Kiravali, etc. It can also be sent to Bateshwar during religious festivals. It will also help in recharging dark zones of Agra.”
The green activists blamed the local politicians and the administration for not conserving water in the smaller rivers in the Agra district.
“If the river system that includes half a dozen streams mostly flowing out of Rajasthan hills, can be rejuvenated by cleaning, desilting and building check dams, the water needs of the entire area can be taken care of. This will also result in increased yield of crops plus help sustain the green environment around Agra which is a sensitive ecozone,” Anil Sharma said.