AMALAPURAM: Realising at a very young age that water bodies in India require attention, a 15-year-old NRI girl has set a goal to contribute her time and energy in reducing water pollution in Godavari river. With her family’s support, Umasri Pujyam has been working towards her goal at her native village, Ponnamanda, in Razole of Ambedkar Konaseema district.
With her relentless efforts to raise awareness on ill effects of water pollution among residents of Godavari districts, she has been inching closer to her dream of restoring the pristine glory of the river.
The 15-year-old collected plastic waste from Godavari river for 100 days inspiring not just panchayat staff but also creating a sense of responsibility among the youth. She founded ‘Youth Against Water Pollution’ organisation through which she has been spearheading a campaign and raising the water issues being faced by the people of Konaseema.
Umasri has been living with her parents Vijay Kumar, Suguna Devi and her brother Uma Maheswara Sastry in Memphis, USA. She has taken up a multi-faceted campaign aimed at addressing the devastating impact of water pollution on the river Godavari and promoting access to clean drinking water for those affected by this existential threat.
Umasri’s inspiring efforts included mobilising local forces to conducting numerous river clean-up initiatives, raising public awareness on the water crisis, and advocating for a more comprehensive strategy to combat this issue. Guided by her deep-seated commitment to social and environmental justice, she has dedicated herself to tackle this neglected issue, driven in part by her own firsthand observations of the dire conditions in Razole, her birthplace.
She has been explaining that untreated sewage and plastic are the key cause behind the river’s pollution. The once clean and safe Godavari is now rampantly polluted.
She has not merely focused on raising the alarm and educating communities about the perils of this crisis, but over the past couple of years, she has organised and conducted over a 100 cleanup drives on river Godavari to address the issue. Furthermore, she has striven to guide local residents on proper waste disposal and ways to reduce their impact on the environment and water sources.
Using her passion for environmental engineering and technology, Umasri aspires to engineer innovative, effective sewage treatment solutions and also advance environmental policies, which prioritise access to clean water for all, thereby, improving the health and livelihood of the communities.
According to her family, her ultimate goal is to help usher in a brighter future for villagers, one in which the health and prosperity of local communities and the environment in which they live are mutually sustained, strengthening generations to come.
ASPIRES TO ENGINEER INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
The once clean and safe Godavari is now rampantly polluted. Umasri has not merely focused on raising the alarm and educating communities about the perils of this crisis, but over the past couple of years, she has organised over a 100 cleanup drives on the river Godavari. Using her passion for environmental engineering, Umasri aspires to engineer innovative and effective sewage treatment solutions, which prioritise access to clean water