An engineer who once owned a factory in the Naroda Industrial Estate, Sheth says he will cover around 110 km and cross 50 villages along the Sabarmati
You might have heard of rallies for world peace or environmental concerns traversing beautiful roads. But, hear this tale for a change. 68-year-old Jatin Sheth has decided to walk through the stinking Sabarmati, from Gyaspur in Ahmedabad to the Gulf of Khambhat, to document the consistent deterioration of the river and the pathetic day-to-day struggles of the villagers.
A mechanical engineer who once owned a factory in the Naroda Industrial Estate, Sheth said he will cover around 110 kilometers and cross 50 villages along the Sabarmati.
"My journey will begin from Gyaspur. This is the place where all industrial effluents from the mega pipelines are dumped. The industries claim it is treated waste, but it is not. The miserable life of villagers around it point to the fact," said Sheth.
Documenting the problems the villagers — dwelling along the river — are facing, Sheth will show how the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) is a sham.
"Currently, there is a common CETP for all industries. CETP should be product-specific and not industrial cluster specific. So there should a CETP for all units manufacturing a common product and not a common industry because the treatment required for each waste is different,"said Sheth.
He hopes to rely on the generosity of strangers and the Indian mindset of never turning away a guest to see him through the journey. "If no one offers me a place to stay or food to eat, there is always the village temple," he says. Sheth plans to cover 15 km every day. He will begin his journey on December 2 onwards.
Sheth said it is important to bring to notice the lives of the people affected by pollution. "No one seems to care of them. And since they are villagers, they don't seem to have any power to fight their case," said Sheth.
He admits that his wife sometimes finds it odd that he would set upon such journey at this age, but chuckles that she is now used to it.
THE DISTANCE
An engineer who once owned a factory in the Naroda Industrial Estate, Sheth said he will cover around 110 km and cross 50 villages along the Sabarmati.
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