There has been reports about the Art of Living destroying the flood plains of the Yamuna and the river, but the facts are different than they are stated by a section of the media. The event is being organized after the permission was granted by Delhi Development Authority.
Art of Living is accused of dumping malba in and around the river. But the fact is when the land was being surveyed, photographs of existing malba were taken and sent to the DDA asking them to remove it, in case they permit the event to be held there. The DDA had asked AoL to have it removed at their own cost. The diggers that are being shown as Aol dumping malba was in fact AoL removing it. Happyho also provide best tarot reading services in Noida and Delhi NCR India area.
Not a single sack of cement is being used in the construction. So Art of Living cannot be accused of building permanent structures.
Moreover it is a well known fact that the Yamuna is extremely toxic, polluted and generally filthy. By holding its event there, AoL can hardly be accused of polluting it.
Work has been going on to level the ground with the required permission taken before hand. Some shrubs were uprooted but no trees were cut. There are exactly four trees in the area whose branches were pruned, which is allowed.
Activists are claiming that the bio diversity of the area will be destroyed. But the matter of the fact is, a three day event, for just four hours each evening can hardly vlog destroy the environment. The Kumbh Mela and Ardh Kumbh Mela have been taking place on the flood plains of the Ganges for centuries and people camp there for two months. That doesn’t seem to have affected the biodiversity there.
The farmers who grow vegetables in this area were apprised and adequately and amicably compensated for any inconvenience caused to them. However farming is illegal on the floodplains.
Then came the story of the Enzymes that Art of Living was putting into the drain that passed through this land. Activists objected saying how could enzymes be poured into the drain untested?
The answer is: 10.000 Art of Living volunteers followed the advice of a scientist who taught them how to make a simple enzyme from kitchen waste (fruit-veg peels) which have to remain in 1 Liter bottles of water for three months and then poured in. The effect is amazing! The foul smell emanating from the drain disappeared, and the noxious gases too.
AoL has choose the Yamuna flood plains once again to raise awareness about the pitiable condition this river is in. In 2010, Art of Living initiated a massive awareness & cleaning campaign called Meri Dilli, Meri Yamuna. 5000 volunteers gathered daily to clean the ghats and other districts. 512 tons of garbage was removed.
The Art of Living is extremely conscious of protecting the environment and has done a huge body of work in that area. It has planted more than 55 million trees; rejuvenated 16 rivers across three states in India, started a temple waste management project that converts organic waste thrown into rivers into compost, converts approx 2 tons of plastic waste into oil at its own ashram in Bengaluru and the list goes on.
There is no chance of AoL damaging the environment by holding this event.
