Rivers of the World Foundation Plans to Conduct Yamuna River Trash Cleanups to mark World Water Day, 2010

Rivers of the World Foundation
Hyderabad, Delhi, Dehradun, and Agra, India, 22 Mar 10

http://www.rowfoundation.org

Events Take place during March 20 - 22, 2010 as mentioned below.

The Rivers of the World (ROW) Foundation (www.rowfoundation.org ) is conducting its 3rd Yamuna River Trash cleanup campaign in Agra on March 22, 2010 to mark the World Water Day 2010. The Yamuna Trash cleanup is also being conducted in Delhi on March 21st, and Dehradun, for the first time this year on March 21st as well. To mark the beginning of the River trash cleanup campaign the Musi River cleanup is being arranged this year for the first time in Hyderabad, India, and crossing the border in China a chinese environmentalist Ms. Hong Zhao, who visited Agra and got inducted to organise trash clean up at Yangtze Kiang River in Wuhan City, China on the occasion of WWD2010. These projects in India are in partnership and motivated by a similar project in Washington, DC, USA to Clean-up the Potomac River by the Alice Ferguson Foundation (www.fergusonfoundation.org ). In both cases, these major rivers are polluted in varying degrees impacting the lifeline of the people living there.

Subijoy Dutta, Environmental Engineer from Washington DC area, who began working on the Yamuna River Cleanup effort over 17 years ago, said, “Your thoughts, wishes, and acts towards cleaning up the Yamuna River will go a long way in supporting the goal of the Yamuna cleanup effort….I’d like each of you to take one simple step towards preventing pollution from going into the Yamuna River. We should stop throwing one piece of trash in open area today, two pieces tomorrow, and three pieces the next day…..at the end of the year we will find ourselves throwing trash only in the trash bin. We must start that now, and teach one person at a time. Your determined actions will one day turn the Yamuna water clean and blue. !”

The United States partner in the Trash Cleanup Project is The Alice Ferguson Foundation, Accokeek, MD, USA (www.fergusonfoundation.org • www.potomaccleanup.org). On Saturday, April 10, 2010 the Foundation will lead its 22nd Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup. Thousands of volunteers will participate at hundreds of Cleanup sites throughout the region to remove enormous amounts of trash. In the past twenty years, over 40,000 volunteers have removed more than 3 million pounds of trash from fields, forests, parking lots, shorelines, school yards, and all areas of the region that drain into the Potomac River.

“Our trash problem is one of the few major long-term issues we can address and solve right now,” said Tracy Bowen, Executive Director of the Alice Ferguson Foundation. “It is through addressing this trash issue that we can get to greater awareness of many other environmental issues, clean, healthy water, and strong civic pride... The goal of the project is to create a trash free Potomac by 2013!”

Brij Khandelwal, Coordinator of the Agra Yamuna Cleanup said a sustained mass movement was necessary. "Citizens should stop looking to the government for everything but initiate action on their own to stop further degradation of the river."

The Yamuna River Cleanup in Agra takes place on March 22, 2010. Brij Khandelwal appealed to the Volunteers to join the programme at any one of the ghats from poiya ghat to hathi ghat along the Yamuna River. Many schools are participating. Senior citizens have also assured us support.

Coated gloves will be given to all Volunteers to protect hands and Blue plastic bags will be used to collect recyclable items and orange bags for trash to be disposed. The recyclables will be transported to the municipal recycling center; arrangements are being made for the non-recyclables to be picked up by the city garbage collection system.

Girish Chaudhry, Country Director, ROW Foundation, Delhi is taking active steps this year in organizing the Yamuna Cleanup on March 21st. This is the 2nd year the Yamuna trash cleanup is being organized in Delhi. Mr. Chaudhry is organizing a huge group of students to participate in the cleanup this year through the active assistance of Leela Foundation, who is working together with ROW Foundation to mark the WWD2010.

Ram Koduri, P.E., an Water Expert from Chicago, US is coordinating the Musi River cleanup effort in Hyderabad, India. For the first time with the cooperation of the local community leaders, residents and Sree Nidhi Institute of Science and Technology (SNIST) ROW Foundation is initating a debris/ trash cleanup of a small segment on the banks of Musi River near Amberpet Bridge on March 20, 2010. About fifty (50) SNIST National Social Service (NSS) volunteers are participating in a beneficial activity. Musi River is the life blood of Hyderabad and other downstream communities. It is heavily polluted and the banks of the river are loaded with debris and trash. SNIST volunteers will be contributing a piece to a mammoth project of restoring Musi River to its natural & pristine condition before man's intervention.

Ramchander Thapliyal, who recently joined the ROW Foundation as a volunteer to protect the Yamuna headwaters is leading an effort for the first time to conduct the Yamuna River trash cleanup in Dehradun on March 21, 2010. About 50-100 people are expected to join hands in cleaning up trash at New Yamuna Colony, Dakpathar, Dehradun. As in Agra, gloves and bags will be used. The recyclables will be transported to the municipal recycling center; arrangements are being made for the non-recyclables to be picked up by the city garbage collection system.

After the Trash Cleanups, information, along with pictures, will be released publicly about how much volume/weight and types (paper, plastics, soda cans, bulk items, such as tires etc.) of trash collected. Both ROW Foundation and Alice Fergusion Foundation will have listing of volunteers and pictures from the Cleanups on the websites, which will be easily accessible to everyone. For exact timing, locations, and other information please contact the cleanup coordinators below.

Agra Coordinator:
Brij Khandelwaal
March 22, 2010,
Agra, India
Mobile: 99971-86708
e-mail: agrabrij@gmail.com

Delhi Coordinator:
Girish Chaudhry, Country Director
March 21, 2010, Delhi, Mobile: 98115-29898
email: holidaysensations@hotmail.com
Hyderabad Coordinator:
Ram Koduri, P.E.
March 20, 2010, Musi River, Hyderabad, India
Mobile: 93900-34657
email: r_koduri@yahoo.com

Dehradun Coordinator:
Ramchander Thapliyal
March 21, 2010, Yamuna Upstream, India
Mobile: 98184-47271 (Delhi);
Uttaranchal: (080) 1032-3206
email: ramchanderthapliyal@gmail.com

Contact: Subijoy Dutta