We have all heard about ‘Rally for Rivers’, a nationwide awareness campaign to revive our dying rivers.  It is said that if the rivers keep shrinking at this rate, then by 2030, 25 percent of our country would have turned into a desert and only 50 percent water will be available for our survival.

These bleak statistics struck a chord in 26-year-old Indian Air Force technical engineer Satish Babu who wanted to change this for the benefit of our countrymen and future generation. After pondering for a while, he decided he wanted to do something different. He wanted to spread the message to save rivers throughout the length and breadth of the country and since cycling was his passion, he decided to do just that.

He embarked on the epic journey from Kashmir on September 9. His mission was to complete the ride in 20 days. He has been going according to the plan so far and hopes to make it to Kanyakumari by September 28 as planned.

He had the experience of doing long solo rides. To prepare for this journey, he worked out, ran for 20 km daily besides going cycling with his club members in Kashmir.

Although Satish Babu had to face many challenges on the way, he was overwhelmed by the kindness of people. He almost got dehydrated on the Delhi-Gwalior leg and fell off the bike and injured himself in Dabra. He was always helped by people and that is why he said that it is the kindness of the people that have stood out in the trip so far.

In his attempt to spread awareness about the need to save our rivers, Satish Babu says that his journey has turned to be a discovery of India. He is very happy to be a part of this campaign to save India’s depleting rivers. He urges all people to take it upon themselves to save the country’s lifelines.

We are a blessed country with an abundance of natural resources. However, we must not take them for granted and exploit them for our selfish purpose. Rampant pollution of rivers is still taking place as industries release untreated effluents. The Pollution Control Board should implement strict measures to curb such pollution.  

Most of our perennial rivers have now become seasonal. Many small rivers have disappeared altogether.

According to Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev, visionary and founder of Isha Foundation, maintaining a substantial number of trees for at least one-kilometre width along the riversides has vast environmental, social and economic benefits for nation and society. He has initiated the Rally for Rivers campaign.

The campaign has met with lots of success. Meanwhile, Satish Babu inspires us to do our little bit, in whatever way we can to save our country’s lifelines- our rivers.