Did Gujarat's city dwellers drank away 19% of Narmada water after November 2017? Farmers' leader asks CM

Modi watching Narmada water flowing to Saurashtra

By Our Representative
With the Narmada dam’s water levels coming down to 112.32 metres as on February 2 – and a mere 181 Million Cubic Metres (MCM) of water available for use (click HERE) – top farmers’ leader Sagar Rabari has asked a pointed question: Where has all the water stored in the dam ahead of the Gujarat elections disappear?
The Narmada dam’s main canal outlet is at 110.64 metres, after which the dam’s unusable dead storage would be available. Ironically, as on October 1, 2017, the water level in the 138.68 metre dam (full reservoir level or FRL) was 130.59 metres.
Talking to Counterview, Rabari, who heads the state’s biggest non-political farmers’ body, Khedut Samaj – Gujarat (KSG), said, “We have been told that, because of the failure of rains in the catchment area, Gujarat’s share of Narmada water came down to 4.71 million acre feet (MAF), or 5,809.73 MCM, which is nearly half of the dam’s allocated share (9 MAF or 11,101.32 MCM) at FRL.”
“Taking into account that, despite shortage of inflow into the dam due to less rainfall, there was going to be no reduction in the allocation of drinking water (1.06 MAF or 1,307.49 MCM of 9 MAF), there is reason to wonder: Where did 1,126.49 MCM, or 19.39% of water disappear”, said Rabari.
“With just about 118 MCM, or 3.12% of water available in the Narmada dam today, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani has now advised farmers not to take summer crop”, Rabari said, asking a pointed question: “Are we to believe that between November 2017 and January 2018, Gujarat’s cities drank up 19.39% of 4.71 MAF water in available in the dam?”
Suggesting that even a little child can link less rainfall with low water level in the dam, Rabari said, the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL), responsible for Narmada water distribution in Gujarat, should have known by mid-September that there would be “less water released in the dam.”
“If the SSNNL did know that there would be a shortfall of drinking water and irrigation, why did it allow the criminal wastage of Narmada water for the Aji and Narmada dam inaugurations and other election-related programmes in September 2017?”, he asked in a statement.
As already reported, the inflow into the Narmada dam was suddenly allowed to jump – from 495 cumecs (cubic meters per second) on September 12, to 2384 cumecs on September 16, in anticipation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the dam for his birthday bash on September 17.
At the same time, ahead of Gujarat polls, Madhya Pradesh depleted its water storage so that the Narmada dam looked full on September 17. Thus, Madhya Pradesh’s dam, Indira Sagar Project’s storage level, which was already very low (about 33%) on September 11 with monsoon almost coming to close, was depleted by further 450 MCM from September 11 to September 16, while the Narmada dam water level rose by 750 MCM during the same period.
Asking Rupani and SSNNL officials to provide “the account of where and how much water was used”, and whether the water used is “as per the Water Usage Manual of the inter-state Narmada Control Authority”, Rabari insisted, they should also provide details of “how much water was wasted in the inaugurations”.
Also seeking information on “how many people could have been provided drinking water for how many months with 1,307.49 MCM of water”, Rabari said, they should also make public “how much area could have been irrigated in that amount of water.”
“Rajasthan has been allotted a mere 0.5 Million Acre Feet (MAF) of water by the Narmada Control Authority (NCA). It has already successfully provided irrigation in 2.46 lakh hectares (ha) and drinking water to 45 lakh people”, Rabari said, adding, “This proves that the Gujarat government and the SSNNL have grossly mismanaged and criminally wasted this precious resource of the people of Gujarat.”
“It is time that the city dwellers woke up and demanded an account of their stolen waters. The political class used the water as a vote-catching ploy”, he said, adding, the chief minister is now misleading the people of Gujarat "on the issue of drinking water and irrigation.”
“City-dwellers facing drinking water shortages in summer months should remember that farmers have not used that water”, said Rabari, adding, “Their water has been swindled from them, used for a totally useless and ulterior motive of getting votes in the assembly election and photo ops and then ultimately drained into the sea!”

Comments

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha* The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza* An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000.

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas* Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco* Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

'Pro-corporate agenda': Odisha crackdown on tribal slum dwellers fighting for land rights

By Our Representative The civil rights network Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), even as condemning what it calls “brutal repression” on the Adivasi slum dwellers of Salia Sahi in Bhubaneshwar by the Odisha police, has said that the crackdown was against the tribals struggling for land rights in order to “stop the attempts at land-grab by the government.”

Deplorable, influential sections 'still believe' burning coal is essential indefinitely

By Shankar Sharma* Some of the recent developments in the power sector, as some recent news items show, should be of massive relevance/ interest to our policy makers in India. Assuming that our authorities are officially mandated/ committed to maintain a holistic approach to the overall welfare of all sections of our society, including the flora, fauna and general environment, these developments/ experiences from different parts of the globe should be clear pointers to the sustainable energy pathways for our people.

Hazrat Aisha’s age was 16, not 6: 'Weak' Hadith responsible for controversy

Sacred chamber where Prophet and Aisha used to live By Dr Mike Ghouse* Muslims must take the responsibility to end the age-old controversy about Hazrat Aisha’s age at the time of her marriage to the Prophet (pbuh) – it was 16, not 6 (minimum was 16, Max 23 per different calculations). The Hadiths published were in good faith, but no one ever checked their authenticity, and they kept passing on from scholar to scholar and book to book. Thanks to 9/11, Muslims have started questioning and correcting the Hadiths, Seerah, and mistranslations of the Quran. Now, the Ulema have to issue an opinion, also known as Fatwa, to end it and remove those Hadith entries. Mustafa Akyol, a scholar of Islam, implores Muslims to stop deifying “the received traditions” and critically study their religious past, shedding rigid legalism and close-mindedness. Someone else used the phrase “copycat Muslims” to identify scholars who copied what was given to them and passed it on without researching or questioni

Search This Blog