MUMBAI, January 22: "I am just a chowkidar of the nation's natural resources. If they (the government) have been unable to begin work on the main dam at Tehri, it is because I kept saying `Jagte raho, chor hai'," smiled Sundarlal Bahuguna, renowned environmentalist and Magsaysay award winner who has spearheaded the agitation against the Tehri dam.Here to receive an award, Bahuguna, in a press meet organised by the Save Mumbai Committee at Mani Bhavan said, "Humne to dhol bajane ka kaam kiya (My work was that of a town crier)." He said, "Forests are our source of oxygen and I want to make permanent dams of forests." He put forward three formulas for rectifying the disappearing forest cover, rivers and soil - austerity, alternative and tree farming. Austerity - man can be dependent on less things to fulfil his needs so that he can learn the difference between need and greed. Alternative - where a conscious effort is made to find out alternatives to the known sources of energy. Like usage of
animal and human energy. And tree farming where he listed five priorities: food, fodder, fuel, fertilisers and fibre.
Speaking on the ill-effects of aping the West due to which nature was being converted to cash, Bahuguna cited the example of the recent suicides of Andhra Pradesh farmers due to cotton crop failure. "We are using too many hybrid seeds and fertilisers. We are addicting our crops to fertilisers."
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
