Appeal to Friends of Himalaya - "National River Now a National Guilt" - a film on the upstream path of the Ganga // Antibiotic waste is polluting India and China's rivers; big pharma must act

By Dilip -
English: https://youtu.be/R4H8Hb5beB4
Hindi: https://youtu.be/D-mAbXHWkFg

Dear All Friends of Himalaya,
This good morning brought me the film on Ganga sent by Mallika Bhanot. Thanks to her and Congratulations to the team who made this film. Any body who uses eyes and mind will support this
cause. Politicians are all alike. They can sell anything and everything belonging to people of India. But the associated cultural organisations, who are supporting the cruel and criminal politics in India are equally responsible for this. This is not the question of Ganga only, this is the question of all resources of the land.

A small fact can be revised. The length of the Tehri reservoir may be more than 70 kms in Bhagirathi and Bhilangana valleys. You can also give the circumference of the lake and total weight of the water. The 'RIS' and 'Siesmic Gap' factors can be mentioned. The 2013 calamity also needs to be clarified that it was pan Uttarakhandi and even beyond the rivers of this state as the far far west Nepal and eastern Himachal- Baspa and Sutlaj valleys- were also destroyed in 2013.

I am forwarding the film to you all and you can further forward it to friends,

Shekhar Pathak
Formerly Professor of History, Kumaon University, Nainital;
Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi;
Fellow, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla and Editor, PAHAR,
Village Pathqura (Nakud)
Post Office- Gangolihat
District Pithoragarh

Namaskaar Sir,
Hope you are well. I am participating in this campaign for the conservation of the upstream path of the Ganga and her tributaries. I am sharing the details so that you can also participate and get others to register their protest as well. These are the links to a  documentary called "National River Now a National Guilt".

English : https://youtu.be/R4H8Hb5beB4
Hindi :https://youtu.be/D-mAbXHWkFg

On one hand tall claims are being made where Ganga is referred to as our cultural and civilizational identity while on the other hand, systematic destruction of the river in the origin valley is being
promoted by subverting the truth and suppressing the reports. This documentary is unraveling the truth behind the systematic destruction of what little remains of the Ganga and is an appeal to protest
against this in order to protect and preserve the last pristine stretches of our heritage.

In the documentary, there is a last section on "Concerned citizens" where names have to be added of whoever wishes to participate in this expose campaign which brings about the falsehood of the current government with regards to conservation of the Ganga.

Please share this documentary privately with your friends or show it to groups of people and motivate people to participate in this campaign and they can either give their names to you or email the same
to: nationalrivernationalguilt@gmail.com The same email address can be used in case more information or details are required by anyone.

We need to register our protest or else Ganga - now National River will soon be an extinct river.
I sincerely hope that you will participate and help in the campaign.

Many thanks

Regards
Mallika
Ganga Ahvaan

 Antibiotic waste is polluting India and China's rivers; big pharma must act
Antibiotic-resistant superbugs are a fundamental threat to global health, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon recently told a general assembly meeting. Failure to address the problem, he said, would make it “difficult if not impossible” to provide universal healthcare, “and it will put the sustainable development goals in jeopardy”. 

For pharmaceutical companies the attention on antimicrobial resistance has also brought a focus on one of its key drivers: the unabated environmental pollution of drug factories in developing countries.
In India and China, where a large proportion of antibiotics are produced, the poorly regulated discharge of untreated wastewater into soils and rivers is causing the spread of antibiotic ingredients which cause bacteria to develop immunity to antibiotics, creating superbugs.

A study of drug factories in China found that antibiotic-resistant bacteria were not only escaping purification but also breeding. For every bacterium that entered one waste treatment plant, four or five antibiotic-resistant bacteria were released into the water system, tainting water, livestock and communities. Superbugs are able to travel quickly through air and water, aboard airplanes and through global food supply chains. By 2050, the total death toll worldwide as the result of contracting an infection that proves resistant to treatment is expected to reach 10 million people (pdf).

Environmental pollution is now a material issue for the pharmaceuticals sector. Global investors such as Nordea and BNP Paribas have raised concern about the potential damage to global health and environment, and are worried that a local factory pollution scandal in India could affect the value of a global pharma company in their portfolio. As the world goes on a global quest to combat antimicrobial resistance, the focus on industry pollution will continue grow.

Last month 13 pharmaceutical companies signed a declaration (pdf) calling for collective action on antimicrobial resistance… Read more
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/oct/25/antibiotic-waste-pollution-india-china-rivers-big-pharma-superbugs-resistance

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