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dam-l LS: Free Press Editorial - Narmada Dams Cause Floods
Friends,
Please find below an editorial published in the Free Press, Indore on Sept
23.
Venu
--
A MAN MADE TRAGEDY
Free Press, 23.9.99
Natural calamities like flash floods and earthquakes cannot be avoided.
They strike anywhere, anytime, taking a heavy toll of human lives and
leave a trial of damage and destruction of houses, property and standing
crops. They also disrupt rail and road traffic, communication and
electrical network. The Narmada which is in full fury for the last one
week has submerged more than 200 villages in the three districts of
Hoshangabad, Vidisha and Sagar. While thousands of people have been
badly affected, more than 10,000 people from Hoshangabad, Raisen,
Vidisha and Narsinghpur have been evacuated to safer places. As road
links have been cut off due to surging waters thousands of people have
been stranded in villages who look to the heavens for air-dropped food
packets for survival.
Though incessant rains continue to lash the districts, the water level in
the Narmada is 15 feet above danger mark due to the release of surplus
water from the nearby Bargi, Tawa and Barna dams, making it a man-made
tragedy. How could a responsible government and the authorities concerned
let loose swirling waters from the dams on the human population
down-stream before evacuating them to safer places. Sadly, there was not a
Noah with his Ark who could carry the entire villagers with their pet
animals and other living creatures to safety till the waters calmed down.
The Chief Minister is busy electioneering in nearby Rajpur and Bastar, and
though the Narmada has been in spate for several days, he did not have the
time and heart to rush to the people in distress. We do not want to call
it Nero's fiddling when Rome was burning, but would have liked the Chief
Minister himself to personally monitor the grim situation.
Already there is a raging controversy and a vibrant movement against the
construction of dams on Narmada especially at Maheshwar. The current
floods and the misery the people are undergoing will give more credence
to their agitation and pave the way for intensifying the Narmada Bachao
Movement. It has been their argument that instead of doing good to the
people and solving the problems of the farmers, the dams will uproot
the villagers and endanger their lives. It is a criminal negligence on
the part of the government that it did not take any precaution that the
surplus water released from the dams do not cause flash floods as in the
present case. The authorities are insensitive to the plight and
suffering of a vast population which could have been easily avoided had
they taken precautionary measures and given some value to human lives.
Floods and droughts are annual features and no government can remain a
helpless spectator when a calamity strikes. The government cannot be
ignorant about the dangers when the sluice gates are opened and water
flows like a deluge wiping out villages. The Chief Minister, even without
assessing the damage and human suffering, has asked for Rs. 75 crores
from the Centre for relief and rehabilitation work. If a government with
foresight had spent at least 10% of this amount, this tragedy could have
been avoided. Even if the Centre gives Rs. 75 crores, who knows how much
money will go to the needy. Once the water recedes, everything will be
forgotten and the poor people will be left to the vagaries of nature
till another tragedy strikes.
It is not only surprising, but also shocking that Madhya Pradesh, the
biggest State in the Indian Union, which takes almost 28 to 30 hours to
travel from one end to the other, doesn't have even a Regional
Meterological Centre to forecast the weather. The State depends on the
nearest RMC at Nagpur in Maharashtra which has two other such centres in
Mumbai and Pune. The farmers are at the mercy of the unpredictable
nature God and it is the responsibility of the authorities to provide
them with necessary information and warn the people of the impending
adverse weather conditions. If the government had advance information
about the heavy rains in Hoshangabad and nearby districts, the people in
the low-lying areas could have been evacuated on time and the misery
minimised.
Now since the tragedy has struck and taken everbody unawares, let's join
the authorities in the endeavour to help relieve the pain and agony. It
should be a lesson for the authorities that Nature can be ruthless if
it ignores the basic minimum precautions to avoid such eventualities.