Rivers, oceans, lakes, and other water bodies are life-lines on earth, giving life and sustaining all life forms on earth. From prehistoric eras, all major long-standing civilizations on earth are on the banks of a benevolent river, Indus Valley being an exemplary one. A part of Mother Nature that breathed life into all life forms, rivers that quenched a lion's share of our domestic and agricultural needs, is today in a battered state, choking with debris, plastic-laden and decrepit, mainly because of human misuse.
Industrial waste, oil spillage, wastewater dumping, sewage effluents, elevated temperatures that lead to thermal pollution, flushing of nitrogen compounds from agricultural fertilizers are all causes of water contamination. Contaminated water source doesn't bode well for mankind and it also destroys the marine ecosystem which in turn topples the food chain. With the advent of industrialization, the economy boomed, living standards improved, and technological advancements skyrocketed but what did it do to our rivers and lakes that were the primary source of water? With every new car on the street, there is not just the peril of air pollution but so does the water pollution increase due to urban runoff. Unclean water that is laden with multiple harmful contaminants washes off from roads and parking lots and causes severe damages to oceans and seas which is the last point of these myriad channels of surface drainage.
Treatment of sewage water, industrial wastewater treatment, agricultural wastewater treatment, stringent measures to control erosion and sedimentation, minimizing urban runoff, etc. can alleviate pollution to a great extent. Stringent laws against littering water bodies with plastic ad other waste must be executed. River and water cleaning committees should be encouraged to organize cleaning missions. Public forums and initiatives should be organized to create and propagate awareness among the masses. The importance of judicious use of all-natural and man-made resources must be inculcated in every school curriculum. It should be etched in the young minds that the death of a river is the annihilation of mankind. Let this message resound with an unbridled passion in our mind and conscience alike.
