DHARA 2023: Shekhawat says rivers are synonymous with civilizations

PUNE, Maharashtra: Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers (DHARA) 2023, an annual meeting of the River City Alliance (RCA), was organised in Pune, Maharashtra by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in collaboration with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) on February 13 and 14.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister for Jal Shakti, Government of India, delivered the keynote address on the inaugural day of the annual meeting. Minister inaugurated the event by mixing water from 52 participating cities in a Jal Kalash. 

He said, “Rivers are synonymous with civilizations and after several decades of using our rivers for survival, we must reflect on what we have given the rivers back, otherwise our future generations will bear the brunt of water scarcity.” He later added, “If every city (107) which is a member of the River Cities Alliance (RCA) will take a step forward, we will take 107 steps forward and that is the need of the hour.” He also highlighted the importance of decentralised planning for effective water resources management and expressed his happiness that over 40 municipal commissioners participated in the event.

The minister also informed that the Pune Rivers Rejuvenation Project, the foundation of which was laid by the Prime Minister of India, would be completed in March 2025. He said, “It is necessary to reestablish the respect for water, which went down from generation to generation as part of the traditional wisdom of our forefathers. It is time that we generate that sentiment in the younger generation by using social media, which is a powerful tool in the times we live,”

Apart from that, an Urban River Management Plan for Ayodhya and Aurangabad was launched in the opening session of the RCA meeting. 

The meeting saw the participation of G Asok Kumar, Director General, NMCG; Vikram Kumar, Pune Municipal Commissioner; and Hitesh Vaidya, Director, NIUA.

Asok Kumar, Director General, NMCG, said that earlier, the water was not even on the list of priorities for the municipal commissioners. But under the Namami Gange Programme, they were asked to include water in their primary agenda, and it has been successful in doing that. He said, “Namami Gange has been selected as one of the world’s top 10 flagship programmes from over 160 countries which is a testament to the success of the Namami Cange Programme.”

Launched in 2021, RCA is a dedicated platform for cities across India to come together to discuss and exchange information for sustainable river management. The meeting encompasses multiple sessions, including a session on ‘Innovative International Case Studies for River Management’, Innovative Examples of River Management within India’, Strengthening the Agenda for Urban River Management’, ‘Youth for Rivers’ and ‘Experiences from International River Cities’. The session titled ‘International Case Studies’ focuses on innovative river-related best practices in countries like Denmark, floodplain management in the Netherlands, reuse of wastewater in Israel, river health monitoring in the USA, pollution control in Japan and water sensitivity city design in Australia.

Himansu Badoni, Executive Director, NMCG; S. Vishwanath, Director, BIOME Solutions; Ramveer Tanwar, Pondman of India; Kartiki Naik, World Resources Institute; Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Chief Advisor, NIUA; Col. Andy Pannier, Secretary, Mississippi River Commission, USA; Martina Bukard, Director, GIZ Programme, Germany; Harry Virahsawmy, Head of Urban Water, Alluvium Consulting, Australia; Anitha Sharma, Counsellor for Water and Urban Development in Embassy of Denmark; Srinivas Chokkakula, Ministry of Jal Shakti Professional Chair, Centre for Policy Research; Prof. Vinod Tare, Founding Head of Ganga; and Dheeraj Joshi, Deputy Secretary of NMCG were some of the attendees in the event.