Thousands march to save Mumbai's rivers

The quality of water that has been affected majorly due to pollution continues to be a cause of concern.

Mumbai:  More than ten thousand citizens across the city came together for the 'River Utsav' festival on Mar 5 to create awareness about the condition of rivers in the city.

The quality of water that has been affected majorly due to pollution continues to be a cause of concern. Citizens were of the view that the need to address this issue and rejuvenate these rivers was of utmost priority.

The River March included participants from all age groups and communities including school and college students, members of Catholic Sabha, Burhani Foundation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Rajendra Singh, the water man of India, also took part. Political leaders like MP Gopal Shetty, MLAs Manisha Chaudhary, Pravin Surve and Yogesh Sagar also rallied their support for the River March.

"The River March on Sunday had 12,500 participants and everyone appealed for rejuvenation of the five rivers. We have garbage thrown in large quantities in the rivers which pollutes the water. While in the name of development the civic body is concretising the river body, we oppose this activity and we want our rivers back," said Gopal Zaveri, one of the organisers of the River March.

After two marches held in the last two years, this was the third successful River March held by the residents of Mumbai.

Source: DNA