Renowned water conservationist Rajendra Singh, known as the "Waterman of India" was in Meerut on Thursday to attend a meeting with divisional commissioner Alok Sinha. He said if government agencies and civil society were committed, the highly polluted Hindon River could be cleaned in about 10-15 years.

"In Netherlands, they have a river which used to be worse off than the Hindon. Their government and civil society were both serious. Within 10 years, the river was clean enough for children to play and people to row canoes in it. I believe that children will soon play in the Hindon too. If we are all serious, we can make it happen within 10 years. We can make the Hindon an example and a model for the rest of the world," said Singh, recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Singh is credited with the revival of Rajasthan's Arvari River in 1990, which had been dry for 60 years. This is the feat that earned him the epithet 'Waterman of India'. Singh also won the Stockholm Water Prize (also known as the Nobel Prize of water)..................Read more

Source web page: Times of India