Vimlendu Jha – A Hero

Picture from here

As part of CNN’s ‘Be the Change’ program, this dynamic environmentalist from New Delhi, India showcases the NGO he founded ‘Swechha – we for the change’ (SWFC), www.swfc.org.in. Initially launched as “we for Yamuna” foundation in 2000 that focused on educating people about the dilapidated state of the river Yamuna that is a primary water source for the city of Delhi.

More about the organization’s work has been mentioned here in an OUTLOOK INDIA article dated 2004:

It’s just a bridge over a stretch of water, for most commuters. One which connects east Delhi to the rest of the capital. But for a young man from Bhagalpur, who’d grown up by the banks of the Ganga in Bihar, the trans-Yamuna crossing into east Delhi was unforgettable in ’98. It was his first sight of the sacred Yamuna.

And what a sight.

…………….While 3,538 million litres of wastewater flows into it through 19 major drains, only five per cent of this is treated. Sewage too flows in untreated.

And the action that Vimlendu took,

With pocket money and a little help from friends, he performed a street play, Dilli Teri Yamuna Maili (Delhi, Your Yamuna is Filthy). It touched a chord. Within a month, 150 volunteers from premier institutes like IIT, JNU and St Stephen’s joined this people’s movement, founded by Vimlendu, called We for Yamuna, reaching out to numerous schools and colleges.

The concept of Shramdaan (shram=effort, daan=donation) indeed proved helpful:

On an average, each shramdaan yields about half a truckload of wet-waste. Besides this, they organise 7-km “shock boat rides” from Wazirabad, along Qudsia and Nigambodh Ghat, where the shades of the water range from sullied blue to brackish black.

In another article mentioned here by ‘ THE HINDU’ dated Nov, 2007, the organization’s work just sounds more and more impressive:

He is as busy as anyone but his business is a little different. Vimlendu Jha is busy giving a human face to our existence. Vimlendu runs a Non Governmental Organisation called Swechha and works with young people on issues of environment and citizenship. He is one of the six men and women chosen from around the world by CNN as part of the Be The Change series. The series looks into the lives of “ordinary citizens doing extraordinary things”.

And in educational tours of the river for kids living in the city, they are informed about their own indirect ways that contribute to more pollution of the river:

What about kids who live in the vicinity of the river? “They are not that important in Yamuna conservation because they are not dumping pizza packets. We are seeing a tap water generation which believes that it gets water from the tap. They have no idea that Yamuna is part of their daily life. The idea is to convince the so-called cream that there is nothing wrong in prosperity but there should be a human face to your existence. I tell the kids it is good to be successful but there is no harm in being good to the world around us as well.”

The upcoming common wealth games in 2010 in Delhi compounds the problem, of course our stereotypical political babus have a stereotypical political answer ready that you could have guessed by now,

Meanwhile, despite all the action plans the river has turned black but you put the question to the Government and you will get a standard question for a reply. Why didn’t you stop the previous regime from building Akshardham Temple?”

And then the important facts about how WE, the general public pollute the river with holier-than-thou actions and attitude.

However, Vimlendu believes that it is the general public which is largely responsible for the sad state of the river. “During the Puja they dump around 38 tonnes of paint by immersing the idols. In a way gods have become toxic! People don’t realise that earlier the idols were made of clay, today they use plaster of Paris.” [Youtube link here]

And talk about any kind of restrictions to the festivals and effigies will burn if not offices stoned.

What keeps the 27-year-old going considering the river is losing the battle for existence by the day? “I know we can’t clean the river ourselves. But I tell you one incident. Recently, I took students of a high-end school to a village visit. What one of the girls wrote after coming back surprised me. She said it took her an hour to decide on which four pairs of salwar-kameez should she take on along with her. But in the village she found kids didn’t have even one to wear. Now she feels like gifting all four to them. This makes me believe that the cycle will change for better one day.”

Please do find some time to see, what actually happens to the waste that is generated at home. The amount of environmental devastation of just one city is unimaginable, and there are at least four or five metro cities within India that do the same amount of damage or more to the environment. True there’s an eco-system surviving in the land fills, rag-pickers, scavengers, wild and stray animals and loads of toxic substances floating around, children working to feed themselves and their family in this dangerous situations.

Wasted – Part 1

Wasted – Part 2

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