Once upon a time, there lived a generous king who was praised for slaughtering cows daily. He was King Rantideva. He slayed two thousand cows every day and fed the meat to Brahmins. For feeding the Brahmins, he was considered a noble king.
Legend says that it was this blood of thousands of slaughtered animals that flowed as the Chambal River, whose ancient name is Charmawati. They thought it was cursed – what river has blood flowing instead of water?
In another myth, it is said that the famous, or rather infamous, game of dice played between the Pandavas and the Kauravas happened along the banks of the Chambal River. It is here that Draupadi suffered gross humiliation. In a fit of rage, she cursed the river – anyone who drank water from the river would be filled with a deep thirst to avenge something in their life.
The Chambal River is a perennial river that flows for 1,024 kilometres. It is one of the chief tributaries of the Yamuna River. It originates at Janapav, southern Vindhya Range, in western Madhya Pradesh, from where it flows into Rajasthan, acting like a border between the two states. It is Rajasthan’s longest river (249 kilometres). It then turns south-east to join the Yamuna River in Uttar Pradesh. The Banas River is its main tributary.
Over the course of time, ravines or undulated surfaces of land, started to appear around the river due to accelerated surface erosion by rainwater. Almost barren hillocks and steep gorges stretching in all directions made the banks uninhabitable.
These were the badlands – infertile and unfit for agriculture. But they turned out to be a blessing in disguise for some. The ravines served as hiding spots for thieves and dacoits (referred to as baghis by the locals), and for the longest time, the ravines of Chambal bore the reputation of sheltering many famous dacoits of India. These ravines are located in the northern reaches of Madhya Pradesh and run along a stretch of sixteen kilometres with a depth of ten metres and a height of thirty metres.
Blood. Curses. Dacoits. No one wanted to settle along the banks of the Chambal.
Then, what happened to the river?
Good things happened. Yes, when there are no humans around, good things happen to the biodiversity of the place.
Since there were no human settlements or activities such as agriculture, fishing, or industries around the Chambal River, there was no human waste that was drained into the river. No land was consumed for growing food. No concrete structures were built. No industries came up. No caustic and toxic chemical waste made the river its home. No aquatic life was threatened.
The river water flows unsullied and clean. Biodiversity got a chance to flourish. The Chambal River boasts of being home to the endangered gharial or Gavialis gangeticus, the Ganges River dolphin or Platanista gangetica, the critically endangered, red-crowned roofed turtle or Batagur kachuga, and the graceful Indian skimmer or Rynchops albicollis among other species. The National Chambal Sanctuary was established in 1979 along the 452-kilometre stretch of the Chambal River and its ravines and is dedicated towards the protection of these freshwater species that are integral to its ecosystem. However, there is an imminent threat to the biodiversity and the survival of the species due to the legalisation of sand mining that happens along the sandy riverbanks.
According to Ranbir Singh, district coordinator, Tarun Bharat Sangh and the Jal Jan Jodo Abhiyan, Karauli and Dhaulpur districts of Rajasthan, the Chambal basin was once a flourishing region. There was an abundance of everything. But the government started consuming resources, including the waters and sand. Water scarcity became a way of life. With no water to irrigate their fields, no food to eat and no water to drink, the youth only had one option left – to join hands with the sand mafias and the illegal mining industry.
When the sand mafias began illegal mining of sand for construction purposes, the locals were hired to work at the mining sites. But that led to silicosis – a kind of lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica, which is a mineral found in rocks and soil. Many youths lost their lives, and the rest became dependent on medicines for life. When they couldn’t work at the mines anymore, these youngsters resorted to robbery to make ends meet. They caused panic and fear. They became baghis or rebels and dacoits.
No one wanted to venture into the contours of the ravines of Chambal where the thugs and thieves hid for fear of being attacked. No one wanted to marry these young men who had turned rogue. Who would look after the women and their children?
When the likes of Ranbir Singh explained to these young men that what they were doing was wrong and that if they joined hands with them to revive the rivers of the Chambal basin, they would get a chance at a better life, things changed. An increasing number of thugs started volunteering for the revival of rivers. They dropped their guns, picked up harvesting tools and started contributing towards the rebuilding of their freshwater sources and their lives. In fact, one of the last dacoits of the Chambal Valley was Nirbhay Singh Gurjar, who passed away in 2005 after terrorizing this fear-soaked region between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for over three decades.
Agriculture flourished, and the very people who robbed and caused fear for a living now have children going to school. They now have over 15,000 acres of cultivated land, which is a 200 per cent increase in their agricultural production. They have also invested in animal husbandry to supplement their income.
Other rivers that are also considered among the cleanest in the country include the Umngot River in Meghalaya, also known as the Dawki River or Wah Umngot. It’s said to have such crystal-clear waters that boats in the river look like they are suspended in the air! Again, there’s no human waste flowing into the river, making its waters clean and clear.
The Chhimtuipui River, which flows in the state of Mizoram and forms the boundary between India and Myanmar, where it is known as the Kaladan River, is also a very clean river.
Good things happen when we leave our rivers alone and give her more than we take from her. For she demands nothing more than just some freedom and space to flow.
Excerpted with permission from Submerged Worlds And Other Amazing Stories Of India’s Mighty Rivers, Vaishali Shroff, Penguin India.
