Mula-Mutha

Above - Children studying a map of the Chalakudy Basin. Photo - RRC.

Seeds of sustainability and sensitivity when sown at a young age, blossom into responsible individuals. And you need to be in touch with the land to sow those seeds. The Central and State Boards of Education in India have made Environmental Science a compulsory subject for schools and junior colleges (for all subjects). But Environmental Sciences is not to be studied in the classroom. In order to understand the erosion and deposition processes of a river, students need to visit a river bend in their city and in order to instil a lifelong aversion to plastic bags, a landfill and dumping grounds need to be seen.

Most of the rivers and streams in urban India are dead. With a very few and rare exceptions, these once-beautiful water bodies have been encroached upon, sources dried up or converted into sewage drains all over the country.Water is being sourced or pumped from sites upstream of the city for its needs or from long distances and the city administration has little incentive for cleaning its own muck. The dismal figures of urban sewage treated by sewage treatment plants, their installed capacity and efficiency stand testimony to this.