|
V.J Jose: The River Keeper
Why would anyone be, but barely interested in issues such as industrial pollution and toxicity of water? To the public psyche these are distant and non-relevant issues unless and until directly affected. This is where the unreserved and wholehearted dedication of a man to a cause is absolutely striking. The man in focus is V.J.Jose, the river keeper of Periyar, a first of his tribe in the whole of Asia (It was in the United States Of America that Greenpeace, appointed the first River keeper for the Hudson River. John Cronin was the first river keeper. The present river keeper is Alex Matheson.)
Jose was born in Eloor south to a family that had for generations looked to the river Periyar for sustenance in the form of fishing and other marine activity. He studied upto the tenth after which he took up a part time jobs during the day to support his educational pursuits. His career had a fair sprinkling of marketing before his energy and attention turned to things demanding immediate attention. It’s been eighteen years since he has been actively engaged in environmental issues. His foray into this field was when he lodged a complaint with the FACT authorities against the pollution they were responsible for. For the past four years he has been working with Greenpeace, the international organization. Discerning the man’s dogged persistence and resolute faith in his ability to take up the fight against the mighty, it was but natural that Greenpeace found in him the best bet to be the River keeper- safeguarding the river from further degradation and calling attention of all towards the wrong they were all doing to the River. To aid him in his duties as river keeper he was given adequate training at the People’s Science Institute, Dehradun.
His family, his wife Alice, his daughter, Remya and his little son, Joel all pitch in their time, energy and efforts in assisting him. Perhaps the spark that spurs him forward in his goal towards a safer and better environment is best captured in his own words,
“ We need industries. No nation can do without industries. However the industries must find and adopt more environment friendly, socially responsible practices that ensure safe co-existence of industries and the surrounding environment.” People affected day-in and day out have so far not been able to receive information about pollution of the river even though governmental bodies and other regulatory authorities have published such reports. Jose avers that his chief aim as River keeper is to bring people’s focus on the pressing issue of increasing levels of pollution in the river and to create a growing awareness and need to prevent such action. Need we say more?
Click here to visit our Document Repository for Toxic Campaigns
|