VISAKHAPATNAM: Noted researcher Patrick Mc Namara suggested that the first phase of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Ganga Cleaning Project’ project initiative should be started at Kanpur instead of Varanasi.
Delivering a lecture on ‘Water Management in India: Conflict or Cooperation’ at GITAM University here Wednesday, Patrick, a research fellow in Nebraska Water Leaders Academy and a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Scholar in India, narrated the good, the bad and the ugly sides of India’s water resource management.
Explaining the functioning of the sewage treatment plant near Appu Ghar here in Visakhapatnam, he said that only one turbine of the six at the sewage treatment plant was in working condition. Broken pump equipment was not replaced for the last few years, and except for a security guard, there was no staff to handle the plant. The waste was being released into the sea without any treatment, Patrick observed. Ancient tanks in Indian villages and step wells in Rajasthan were still major water resources, he said and added that the because of bad monsoon conditions the water tables were coming down drastically in the country. On the other hand, the open sewage systems, open defecation and environmental regulations enforcement were big problems affecting the quality and management of water resources.
Principal of Institute of Management, GITAM University, K Sivaramakrishna said that water management was crucial to avoid conflicts between the states and safe drinking water was a fundamental right to every citizen.
University senior professor and director of evaluation Yathiraj Kumar and others were present.
‘World is Waiting for Ganga Project Result’
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new initiative ‘Ganga Cleaning Project’, Patrick Mc Namara felt that the project should begin at Kanpur. “Kanpur is the place where the Ganga is more polluted than anywhere else,” he said. Patrick said that the whole world was watching how the Indian government would implement the project as many nations would like to copy the model if it proved to be effective. He hoped that every citizen in the country would contribute their best to the Ganga Cleaning Project and make it a success.