Sharing the spirit of solidarity with communities all across the world, women self help groups of Kha Sanjenbam village under Nambol assembly constituency in Manipur’s Bishnupur District observed the World Rivers Day 2026 on Sunday.
The World Rivers Day is observed annually on the fourth Sunday of September (27 September this year) to highlight the ecological, cultural and economic values of the world’s waterways.
The day’s observation was attended by Salam Rajesh, IUCN CEESP member, and Soibam Boby Devi, field coordinator for People’s Resources Development Association, Bishnupur, as resource persons.
The observation dwelt on the significance of the Waishel Maril stream cleanup campaign being initiated by the Kha Sanjembam women SHGs since April earlier this year as local strategy in climate change adaptation at the grassroots, and with the objective to achieve sustainable livelihood for the local community.
The global community is observing the annual World Rivers Day with the theme ‘Save Rivers, Save Future’ in solidarity with the worldwide campaign to garner support for bestowing legal rights to rivers to protect the world’s waterways from degradation and decline.
This move comes alongside the thrust on rejuvenation of river ecology and environment to achieve various benefits including ecosystem services, climate regulation, livelihoods, and wildlife conservation amongst other benefits.
The World Rivers Day global campaign was established in 2005 by Canadian river conservationist Mark Angelo, building on the initiative by British Columbia’s Rivers Day campaign which began in 1980. The day is celebrated by millions across 100 countries annually.
Activities globally include stream cleanups, tree planting along riverbanks, and educational sessions to highlight the salient features of rivers and the ecosystems these waterways sustain.
It may be recalled here that in a landmark judgment on 23 July earlier this year, the Madras High Court recognized the rights of the Tamirabarani River as a juristic person – a non-human legal entity.
The move came with the court’s observation that ‘rivers cannot be polluted in the name of religion’, rhyming with local communities’ campaign to protect the river from pollution and ecological degradation.
Meanwhile, the All India Rivers Forum of National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM) is hosting a week-long Riverhood Action Week beginning 27 September to campaign for the rights of rivers at national and global platforms.
The campaign seeks in exploring the idea of riverhood where rivers are not seen simply as water resources or infrastructure, but as living ecological, cultural, spiritual and political territories.
For Manipur State, the idea of rivers as non-human legal entity is yet to be digested and picked up by the people here, although many of the rivers in the State are in various stages of degradation in their ecological and environmental profiles.
It may be further recalled that very recently, the Nambul River in the State which drains directly into the freshwater Loktak Lake – a Ramsar site – was stamped as one of the worst polluted rivers in India by the Government of India.
Many rivers in the State, including Nambul, Manipur (Imphal Turel), Iril and Thoubal rivers are in pitiful conditions today with their environmental flow (e-flow) reduced considerably from reasons like watershed and catchment degradation, ecological decline, and siltation.
