Turbid Flood Waters

There is also a major requirement for the revival of streams that have dried up during the so-called development process, and for the resumption of adequate flows in rivers that have been depleted due to excessive diversion of their waters or due to deforestation. There are several ways in which rivers and streams can be revived, the principal ones being afforestation and the protection of glaciers from global warming and excessive tourism. Of these there is an urgent need to take up afforestation on a war footing and to control Himalayan tourism to prevent congestion of the higher reaches. India must also join vigorously in the international effort to reverse the trend of global warming and to control air pollution, even if this requires us to limit the use of fossil fuels, thereby limiting the rate of industrial development [ensuring that polluting industries are also reduced by the developed world, at future rounds of Rio negotiations].

A Sorry Sight!