AARYAN SHARMA
JAMMU: To mark the World Environment Day large number of programmes and seminars were organised on Monday to generate awareness among the masses and motivate them to spare a thought on how to protect their surroundings.
Ironically, majority of these programmes were held under the roof and in very few cases the organisers decided to step out on the streets due to prevailing heat wave conditions.
Long speeches and slogan-writing contests were conducted but very few volunteers and NGOs could really come out to save the Surya Putri Tawi and dozen other water bodies facing utter neglect.
In the absence of any concrete conservation and preservation programme, Tawi River is dying slow death and is on the verge of losing its sheen due to growing encroachment.
The State Government is one of the biggest culprits for its failure to check rampant encroachment of Tawi River front. The river continues to face neglect of the city denizens as well as everyone living in the city and instead of contributing towards its beautification, they have constantly exploiting it for vested interests.
Till date not a single brick has been added towards implementing prestigious Tawi River Front Programme. Despite signing MoU with the Sabarmati River Front, the alliance government has failed to kick start the ambitious project much to the chagrin of the local residents.
Though work is going on to decorate Mahajara Hari Singh Park but when it comes to ensuring cleanliness and preservation of the Tawi River bed no major headway has been achieved. No plantation drive has been carried out so far in the past several years to grow more trees along the river front. The ministers only make long speeches and claim to generate awareness but it appears the departments working under their command have not been paying attention to the diktats issued by their own ministers.
