A study by the Wildlife Institute of India together with Amity School of Natural Resources finds that 56% of Dehradun’s riverscape (amounting to ~45.1 sq km of the city’s 80 sq km river area) is under serious ecological stress. Rivers like the Asan, Bindal, Rispana, Song, and Suswa are being overwhelmed by municipal sewage, unregulated tourism, illegal sand mining, over-extraction of water, and expanding agricultural lands. In particular, Suswa is in critical condition due to heavy waste inflows from Bindal and Rispana. The study warns of risks including aquatic ecosystem collapse, groundwater contamination, and growing threats to human health. It calls for urgent interventions—such as better sewage treatment, stricter land-use regulation, and ecological restoration—to avoid irreversible damage. Government and local bodies can no longer treat these as peripheral issues: these rivers are lifelines of water, health, and climate resilience.
Source link: Times of India — Dehradun riverscape under stress The Times of India
Over Half of Dehradun’s Rivers Under Severe Ecological Stress: WII Study Sounds Alarm
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