In July 2012 Anil Madhav Dave wrote his will. He wished to be cremated by the Narmada river upon his death. My funeral be performed in accordance to Vedic rituals and if possible cremation be performed on the banks of river Narmada at Bandrabhan where Nadi Mahotsav was organised. If you want to cherish my memories plant trees and save them. This would give me pleasure Dave had said in a will written and signed by him on 23 July 2012.That wasn t just an ordinary wish. The Narmada river considered the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh was the chief focus of Dave union minister of state for environment who passed away in New Delhi on Thursday at the age of 60. As per his wishes he would be cremated at 9 am at Bandrabhan in Madhya Pradesh on Friday.It was only three days ago that one of the biggest recent events associated with the Narmada river culminated at its origin in Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh. Dave must have been happy with the conclusion of the 148-day Namami Devi Narmada Sewa Yatra that covered 1 100 villages and a distance of 3 350 km a circumambulation of the river s path from its origin to its meeting with the sea by thousands of people.File photo of Anil Dave. PTIPrime Minister Narendra Modi released a blueprint on the conservation of Narmada at Amarkantak on 15 May the day the Sewa Yatra concluded.Dave provided his guidance to the Madhya Pradesh government regarding the conservation of the Narmada river considered the state s lifeline and the blueprint was an outcome of this.It was after all a cause that was close to Dave s heart. An early advocate of river conservation and an expert in the field he had founded the Narmada Samagra NGO to help save the river from pollution and other forms of exploitation.Dave s connect with Narmada was not just as a fist-in-the-air activist but was far more deeply emotional than is possible to imagine. Not many would know that the river for him was a symbol of his faith an entity that he worshipped profoundly. He carried out the circumambulation of the river on foot through river rafting and by flying around it he was a trained-licenced private pilot and flew an aircraft around the Narmada in a unique air parikrama that lasted 18 hours. His passion for the Narmada and his contribution towards the river s conservation can be judged from his book Amarkantak se Amarkantak Tak. To create public awareness he flew a Cessna 173 aircraft along the river s banks for 18 hours to complete his circumambulation. He also travelled and completed an insurmountable 1 312-km rafting journey in 19 days. Moreover the Narmada Samagra organisation founded by him works for the conservation of the river and its catchment areas through various activities and events. I ve had the opportunity to watch him closely Hitesh Bajpai former Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson who accompanied Dave for several activities of the Sangh recalled.Dave who has a Master s degree in Commerce from Gujarati College in Indore with specialisation in Rural Development and Management was initiated into politics during the JP Narayan uprising. After joining Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) he worked relentlessly for the Narmada s conservation.Hoshangabad s Nadi Mahotsav (river festival) at Bandrabhan a biennial one-of-its-kind event in Asia was his brain child. It soon became a global brand and covered issues regarding climate change global warming environment and river conservation. Dave minced no words in slamming even the functioning of National Green Tribunal (NGT). He was a nationalist at the core. He was so deeply engrossed in the issues regarding the rivers and the environment that he set up a small ashram by the Narmada in Hoshangabad. He used to go to https://www.studiopress.com/forums/users/fashionladki/ the forest resorts or his ashram whenever he wanted to think by himself in isolation. As a medical practitioner I have seen that despite being a diabetic he preferred to undergo natural way of curing himself rather than taking allopathic medicines. He preferred sleeping on the floor and didn t using an air-conditioner says Bajpai chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation.Even though Narmada occupied top priority in Dave s life he was an all-round environmentalist who also wrote several books on the subject in both Hindi and English. He also wrote on Chhatrapati Shivaji and earned good readership for this. Therefore his appointment as minister of state for environment in the Narendra Modi government last year was no surprise to polity watchers. His appointment as MoS for Environment and Climate Change was expected. The Sangh wanted his capabilities to rightly be used by the Modi government. Had he lived further he would have definitely been elevated to a Cabinet role. He was also concerned about the Ganga and other rivers. There were indications that the government wanted him to play a bigger role in the days to come. He earned respect not only from his party colleagues but also from the opponents due to his loveable nature said Bhopal-based journalist Rakesh Agnihotri who has closely seen Dave from his days as an organisational man .The other ace up Dave s sleeve was the fact that he was a master political strategist. Indian polity that is undergoing tremendous unprecedented upheaveals for the past few decades will remember Dave as a pioneer of the political strategists who have come later in the day. Way back in 2003 he helmed a successful campaign for the BJP and against the then Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh leading to the latter s ouster from the state after two successive terms. The BJP has not lost the state since then.According to political pundits Dave s name had even been making the rounds as a possible next chief minister of Madhya Pradesh after the 2018 Assembly election. He wasn t a mass leader in terms of winning a seat for himself by contesting an election but he was an astute strategist and an able administrator. Within the party Dave was seen as a potential candidate to replace present Shivraj Singh Chauhan as chief minister if BJP won the 2018 Assembly election a party insider remarked.Dave s functioning be it as an activist a BJP office bearer or as a minister always reflected discipline of the Sangh. We developed a good rapport as friends from the time when Anil Dave had been functioning as Vibhag Pracharak in Bhopal. His untimely demise is a personal loss to me. He proved his mettle as a Vibhag Pracharak BJP office bearer in various capacities an activist who took up the cause of conservation Narmada and other rivers as an environmentalist and as a minister at the Centre. The people the society and the central government have lost an efficient worker with immense will power RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat said in his condolence message on Thursday.#Anil dave#Environment#Madhya pradesh#Narendra modi#Narmada#National green tribunal#Newstracker#River conservation#Shivraj singh chauhan
By: PTI | Bhopal | Published:May 8 2017 9:33 pm It is essential to conserve Narmada river which is a lifeline of Madhya Pradesh and also a major source of water for Gujarat state Union Minister Anil Madhav Dave on Monday said it was important to stop using chemical fertilisers in agriculture as it was causing irreparable damage to human beings. He urged people especially those living in the region along the Narmada river to take up organic farming. It is absolutely necessary to stop the use of chemical fertilisers in agriculture as it is causing irreparable damage to vital organs like kidneys and others of human beings he said. The Union Minister of State for Forests and Environment was addressing a seminar of Nadi Jal Paryavaran Sanrakshan Manthan (River Water Environment Conservation Session). Dave who is actively involved in the conservation of Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh urged those present at the event to go for chemical-free farming. He also said that people living along Narmada river should feed chemical-free food grains to their children. God has created nature and not urea which is a human creation and we should avoid its use he said. Praising Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for launching the Narmada Sewa Yatra he said It is essential to conserve Narmada river which is a lifeline of Madhya Pradesh and also a major source of water for Gujarat state which has invested millions in creating infrastructure for using its water. Unlike the Himalayan rivers Narmada draws its water from mountains and forest areas around it and if these areas are not conserved then the river may go dry which will create lot of problems for the people Dave said. In his address Chouhan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be coming to Amarkantak the origin of Narmada river on May 15 where he would release a roadmap for its conservation. Similar efforts would be made to revive other rivers in the state which are the tributaries of Narmada he added. Judicial member of the National Green Tribunal s central zonal bench Justice Dalip Singh and renowned water activist Rajendra Singh also spoke on the occasion. Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff who was also present urged the people to conserve water. If you don t even know that water should be conserved then just think what will happen to your future generations Shroff said. Urging people to plant saplings he said people should make their children understand the importance of water. For all the latest India News download Indian Express App now No Comments.
Ends PG/SL NNNN ANI(This article has not been edited by DNA s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
Ends PG/SL NNNN ANI(This article has not been edited by DNA s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
New Delhi: Civil society groups opposing approval to genetically modified (GM) mustard on Wednesday met Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave and urged him to reject the GM mustard commercialization application. The group threatened nationwide resistance in case the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government approved it. A delegation of Sarson Satyagraha a broad platform of hundreds of organisations representing farmers scientists consumers and others that has been on the forefront of resisting GM mustard met Dave at the end of a march.The delegation consisted of representatives of farmer unions consumer groups retailers association bee-keeping industry organic farming associations farmers and consumers. After the meeting the delegation claimed the minster assured them that he will highlight their concerns at the right platform . ALSO READ: Parliamentary panel to review GM mustard clearanceThe delegation alleged GM mustard is a scientific fraud on the nation and challenged the government to an open public debate on the claimed need benefits and safety of GM mustard. If they are confident of their science and integrity of appraisal they should join such a debate so that citizens know what they are being subjected to said the delegation while asking Dave to reject the application or face stiff resistance. Yudhvir Singh of the Bhartiya Kisan Union and convenor of Indian Coordination Committee for Farmers Movements (ICCFM) criticised the move. We hear that the government is preparing its report card to the nation on three years of Modi Sarkaar. Is this GM mustard Modi government s dangerous gift to the nation to mark its 3 years in existence? We would like to remind the government about what BJP had promised in its Manifesto in 2014 with regard to GM technology and that this GM mustard in no way abides by that commitment said Singh who was part of the delegation.Badrinarayan Chaudhary who is the national general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh added that the issue of increased oilseed production towards self-reliance cannot be solved by unsafe technologies like GM. Farmers already have a choice of hybrids in the market. The advent of several hybrids over the past decade or so did not bring down our oil imports. This GM mustard was not even compared with the best hybrids to begin with for anyone to make yield increase claims Chaudhary said.GM crops have always been a contentious issue in India. GM brinjal was cleared by the GEAC in 2010 but was put on hold by then environment minister Jairam Ramesh following protests from civil society groups. At present cotton is the only GM crop allowed in India but if government allows commercial production of GM mustard it would be first such food crop to get an approval. GM mustard has been developed by the Delhi University-based Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP). Last week India s regulator for transgenic products the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under Union environment ministry recommended approval for GM mustard s commercial production. The GEAC s recommendation however has to be approved by https://publiclab.org/profile/mehndidesignsf Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave. But since GEAC s approval several coalitions of farmers scientists and civil society groups have started voicing their opposition to it. A parliamentary standing committee headed by Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury on Monday also asked the central government to hold clearance to GM mustard crop as the panel is looking into the issue.Mayank AggarwalTopics: GM mustard farmers scientist agriculture crops
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