Thaindian News

Ghaziabad, May 24 (IANS) Environmentalists are up in arms against the proposed third bridge over Hindon river in Ghaziabad, saying it will cause floods and endanger biodiversity. Filling up the riverbed with sand for the bridge has forced the river to change course, also posing a risk to the Hindon air force base set up to protect the capital, they say.

Sand filled up to 270 metres in length and 30 metres in width from the levee on the eastern side of the river has blocked the natural flow of water and forced the Hindon river to deviate from its course about 200 metres towards the western bank.

Rajendra Singh, the water man and Magsaysay award recipient, strongly opposes the proposed site of the bridge.

“It would divert the main water stream of the river, hence it would be against the ecology and biodiversity of the area. It is strongly objectionable,” Rajendra Singh told IANS.

B.B. Singh, a leading geographer and former principal of a college in Ghaziabad, near the Indian capital, said: “After visiting the location, I saw that pushing the water flow towards the west by making artificial embankments would adversely affect the flow of the river and also shrink the natural spread of the river water regime, causing floods in the area, thereby endangering ecological systems and biodiversity.”

“It would be advisable to construct the bridge from the Raj Nagar Extension road embankment meeting point to Karhera village side on pillars throughout to let the water flow without any hindrance.

“The undesired construction of embankments is a result of a very short and narrow vision of the planner, without taking into consideration the flood that occurred in Ghaziabad in 1974,” he said.

Vikrant Sharma, an environmentalist, claimed if the project is continues despite objections by experts, a mass protest would be organised at the collectorate.

He said the authorities do not seem sensitive to the issue despite a high court order dated Feb 25, 2005.

Following the order, Kapil Deo, then principal secretary, had directed all district magistrates to investigate each village in each district in Uttar Pradesh for any harm to water channels and riverbeds.

Vijay Pal Singh Baghel of the green group Paryavaran Sachetak Dal in his letter dated March 26, 2011 to the district magistrate, and another letter dated April 20, 2011 to the chief engineer of Uttar Pradesh irrigation department protested the construction of the proposed bridge on the ground that it would disturb the ecology of the river and block the main stream of water, leading to a flood and hence posing a threat to the city and surrounding areas.

The site cannot contain a 200-metre-long bridge since the land filling had exceeded the length of over 250 metres, he said.

It would create traffic snarls on Wazirabad road in front of the Hindon Air Force Station and the water would flow through the agricultural field due to deviation in the river course, he said.

But the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department is carrying on construction activity at the site.

Gyas Alam, executive engineer and the nodal officer, said: “There would be no harm to the river and the area since the bridge would siphon out all the flood water from its raised height.”

But he admitted that the bridge would “not have enough width” because of the land fill.

“The design has been approved by engineers of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee,” Alam said.

When told that IIT engineers could only certify the project for technical specifications and not environmental requirements, Alam had nothing to say.