Campaign
Yamuna ride of doctors
Yamuna - an experience for doctors- April 6,
2003
Doctors always say eat clean food, don’t
drink dirty water,
cleanliness is the key to good health. The health unit at CSE thought it would be a good
idea to take doctors down the Yamuna to show them the pollution as it exists. session and
they felt that they could be involved in passing on the message of clean water and
sanitation to the community. Subhash Arya, head of pediatrics, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital,
expressed concern that while big hospitals got their uniform laundered and autoclaved,
where did the
We had 7 doctors from various from various fields. The first basic question
they all wanted to know was why had we organised the trip for them and why Yamuna? The
boat ride was orgainised to make the doctors aware of the state of the river which is the
source for the cityÕs water requirements.
Enthusiastically we all boarded the tiny boat. And soon the
enthusiasm gave way to despair. Pollution to its extreme! Is this the river that provides
us with drinking water, the water that comes in our taps? It was filth all around. We
looked like tiny people surrounded by hoards of plastics, bottles, and dry flowers, amidst
other floating objects all around. It took us about an hour and a half to reach from one
bank to the other. Throughout the journey we had to cover our faces to avoid the foul
smell all around us. God knows what was brewing down the river. We could see bubbles came
resurfacing all through. Pesticides? Dioxins? The only creature loyal to this river was a
lone monkey who sat on a small electricity pole- getting his food from the boatmen passing
by. The doctors participated in a discussion session and they felt that they could be
involved in passing on the message of clean water and sanitation to the community. Subhash
Arya, head of pediatrics, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, expressed concern that while big
hospitals got their uniform laundered and autoclaved, where did the small hospitals give
their laundries to wash? Were they washed on the banks of this dirty river? The ride was
an enlightening one-both for the doctors, as well as for the health unit.
The children arrived in tractor driven trolleys. They brought with
them various models prepared by them using clay, mud, wood, waste items like broken
bangles. The children also made delightful sketches of birds and animals that they have
seen around them
 Varanasi Teachers Workshop
A two-day Teachers Workshop on Environment Education
was organised in Varanasi on April 12, 2003. The event was organised by the Banyan Tree, a
local NGO in Varanasi in collaboration with the environment education unit of CSE at the
Theosophical Society of India, Varanasi.
The event saw the participation of thirty teachers from eight
prominent schools of the city. What better way to start an environment education workshop
than by a poem on environment. Think your city as a cow. When told this, the teachers were
found looking at each other and asking how is this relevant to environment, but as the
workshop followed they became more curious and were also asking questions. This was the
Òunderstand your city as an ecosystem programmeÓ. After watching the film Harvest Of
Rain, producced by CSE they were all one voice to propose water harvesting in their
respective schools. When are we going for the eco-tour? This was the question that was on
the mind of the teachers on the second day of the workshop Dr S Sundaram of the Indian
sectionn of the Theosophical Society guided us to an ecotour of their campus area. The
teachers learnt about the traditional water harvesting system that exists in the middle of
the city. A structure none of the teachers were aware of and is still functional. TThey
learnt the various ways of water management that was practiced in the campus. They saw how
the rainwater, even now is used for gardening purposes. So it was a new learning for all
of us.
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