Aurangabad: Environment and health activists in Marathwada have urged the government to be cautious before bringing water from Gujarat to the drought-affected Marathwada.The activists have cited figures linked to health issues due to river pollution and have called for purification of rivers ahead of the linking project.Union water resources and river development minister Nitin Gadkari had on Wednesday announced that a pact would be signed with Gujarat to draw water from Damanganga river for the parched Marathwada region.The minister made the announcement while speaking at the 9th International Micro Irrigation Conference. He laid out plans to draw water from the west flowing Damanganga river and Pinjal reservoir to address the drought situation of Marathwada.Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has also repeatedly spoken about bringing 50 thousand million cubic foot water from these two water bodies.Homeopath Vilas Jagdale, in a memorandum submitted to Gadkari earlier this month, had expressed concern over the contamination of water in Ujani dam in Solapur and the release of effluent into rivers across Maharashtra.Citing various newspaper reports as well as studies undertaken by research organisations, Jagdale said that the water in Ujani is found to have carcinogenic properties. He also expressed concerns over the indiscriminate release of chemicals by industries into the dams across the state. “The water from these dams is mixed and then used for human consumption,” he said.According to him, the river-linking project may prove disastrous and increase pollution. “Regular purification process may not be sufficient to make the water potable. Proven scientific technique should be adopted for purifying it,” he said.Jagdale cited studies and said that if industrial pollution of rivers is not curbed, 75% Indians face the risk of cancer by 2028.Meanwhile, senior environmentalist HM Desarda termed the river linking as “a money harvesting” project rather than water harvesting.“These rivers and the ecosystem around them have developed over millennia. Bringing large amount of water from one geographical location to another is not the answer for water scarcity. It will lead to the destruction of the flora and fauna,” he said. Desarda said that the government should realise that it is not a technological project, but it may have serious implications.

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