Battle to save Ganga marred by tragedies, 'broken promises' on government's part

Md Sarfraz Alam*
The River Ganga is facing challenges of preserving ecological integrity due to declining flow and degrading water quality primarily due to pollution, illegal mining and quarrying of rocks, and unsustainable ways of constructing dams and barrages in the foothills of the Himalayas. Also, the ongoing and planned construction of hydroelectric projects on the river Ganga and its tributaries in the Himalayan region are adversely affecting the water quality and reducing the flow of the river.
The river is home to many aquatic plants and animals. Apart from humans, many other kinds of lives are endangered due to Ganga's degeneration. The fertilizers and pesticides are getting washed away into Ganga. Industrial sewage is also discharged in it. The Ashes of burn dead bodies the garland of flowers etc. are also thrown. It will be necessary to ensure that residues of fertilizers and pesticides do not find their way into Ganga.
Several activists and many agencies including the United Nations have petitioned the Indian government to allow the Ganga to flow by stopping the construction of dams in the Ganges and its tributaries. Swami Shivanand Saraswati founder of Matri Sadan, has adopted a non-violent hunger strike path multiple times in Haridwar, anticipating the consequences. He launched the Ganga Tapasya campaign calling on the Government of India to stop dam building.
He was assured by the prime minister office that his demands, scrapping the development of hydroelectric projects on Ganga and its sub-tributaries, prohibition on quarrying operations and moving at least 5 km of stone crushers from the Ganga river bed, rapid enactment of the Ganga Act and inclusion of pro-Ganga activists and seers in the drafted panel committee-will be considered.
The battle to save India's most famous river has been marred by tragedies and broken promises on the government's part. Veteran environmentalist Professor GD Agarwal succumbed to poor health on October 11, 2018, after fasting for the same cause as Swami Sanand for a full 111 days before life gave up on him. He wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi elicited no response. He died reminding the Prime Minister that had come to power from Varanasi and had sought votes in the name of the Ganga.
A river is only purified when it is permitted to flow freely and not restricted by building dams and getting stagnant water. In the recent past, repercussions of acts taken against the rule of nature have been seen in the form of floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones in many places around the world, including India (Uttarakhand, Bihar, Assam).
The main cause of the flooding is restricting the rivers by building dams and high-rise buildings near the riverbeds, which effectively blocks the flow of rivers and the natural merger into the oceans. "We The People Of India" do not want to face other tragedies by restricting the flow and going against it with "River Ganga". Our generation as well as the future generations need to have a balanced climate. Our rivers are the lifeline for all the creatures who live on this beautiful planet.
However, in India, the climate change situation is very critical as it is affecting millions of populations, so it needs to be quick. Rivers are the kidneys of mother earth, which can never be replaced if destroyed once, as in the case of a human body. Therefore, when we know that our kidney is endangered, it becomes our responsibility and duty to protect them by joining our hands for "Ganga Tapasya" and collectively asking the government to stop the building of dams across river Ganga.

We have yet to see a credible Environment Impact Assessment of sand mining, nor is there any worthwhile public consultation process

Officials at National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) say that demands to shut down all power projects and take away the management of the Ganga from the government are untenable because it violates principles of secularism and would, in its way, invite public wrath. If all hydropower projects were shut down… people would complain about electricity and economic hardships. Many demands -- such as putting ecological principles at the heart of cleaning the Ganga -- are genuine, but these can only be solved gradually and not through hunger strikes.

India is a huge country with a population of over 130 crore, it requires a huge source of energy for development. Is this a good time for India to complete the shutdown of the hydro project on the Ganga or should India continue to generate energy and dams can be shut down in a phased manner?
Way forward mining in Haridwar stretch of river Ganga has always been a sensitive issue. Unsustainable and mechanized riverbed excavation of minerals would prove invitation to an environmental disaster. Apart from inflicting severe damages on aquatic ecosystem, quarrying in excess impacts the natural flow path and pattern of the river thus leading to breach of embankments and causing floods in adjacent areas during monsoon.
Unabated and deep excavation of the riverbed would also lower the groundwater and destabilize the river banks. In short, if not addressed properly, flawed mining practices could trigger a series of environmental reactions with adverse impact on local people, Haridwar town and Ganga river itself. It is a matter of grave concern that the State government has so far remained unresponsive to the plea of communities, civil society groups and experts raising voice against unscientific mining practices in Ganga.
It is good that NMCG has timely intervened in the matter and assured Matri Sadan strict actions against violators. Respecting the Matri Sadan efforts and concerns raised by experts and environmentalists, the Union Environment Ministry must form a credible and independent committee to study the whole issue thoroughly and must stop all mining activities in Ganga till then.
Unfortunately, we have yet to see a credible Environment Impact Assessment of sand mining, nor is there any worthwhile public consultation process. There is nothing in the name of achieving compliance of the environmental norms, and implementation of environmental management plans. Is it the right time the concerned State and Central departments take cognizance of these points to protect Ganga and other rivers of the country from unsustainable mining practices?
---
*PGP second year student, Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad

Comments

'Halt Covid-19 vaccination drive': Indian doctors join campaign across 36 nations

By Rosamma Thomas* A group of Spanish doctors first got together to call for a halt to the Covid-19 vaccinations, and doctors from other countries too later joined them – there are now over 12,000 doctors from India, Portugal, Canada, Hungary, South Africa, Israel and a host of other nations who have issued a call to halt vaccinations. On September 10, a group of Indian doctors came together to address the press over a webinar to explain why they thought the vaccination drive should end forthwith. Dr Amitav Banerjee, who after a career as an epidemiologist in the Indian Army now teaches at a private medical college in Pune, said there was no longer a medical emergency. Children are at low risk of infection, and there is good reason to halt vaccination and conduct proper research, given the high number of adverse events. There is a sudden and poorly explained spike in the number of young and healthy people dying. While it may be impossible to attribute deaths entirely to the vaccinatio

Did Mother Teresa trivialise poverty? 'You are suffering, that means Jesus is kissing you'

By Harsh Thakor* The world commemorated the 25th death anniversary of Mother Teresa on September 5. Whatever her flaws, she rendered service to humanity in regions almost untranscended, resembling the relentless spirit of the waves of an ocean. Irrespective of community or religion, she offered her service. Even those not drawn by sainthood revere the role of Mother Teresa. For 68 years, she had worked selflessly and tirelessly in India and elsewhere in the world, taught the destitute, healed the sick, fed and clothed the poor, cared for abandoned children, housed lepers and those afflicted with HIV/AIDS and offered dignity in death to desolate persons abandoned by family and society. Mother Teresa was born in Skopje in 1910 to an Albanian family as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. She became wedded to religious vows at an early age and moved to India to join the missionary work of the Catholic Church. Heartshaken by the misery faced by the Indian masses, in 1950 she set up her own

Tracing roots of Hindutva Zionism: cannon fodder for 'warped' nationalist pretensions

By Shamsul Islam* Those who believe in a world free of hegemonic ethno-nationalism, racism, religious bigotry and hatred have rightly taken note of Zionism and its ally Christian Zionism, major perpetrators of ethnic cleansing of ‘Others’. However, the civilized world with its core belief in multi-culturalism and peaceful co-existence is oblivious to a no less dangerous threat to the present human civilization: the Hindutva Zionism. As the term reads it is part of the Hindutva world-view which stands for an exclusive Hindu India minus Muslims and Christians. The other religions like Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism will have no independent status but treated as part of Hinduism. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS; National Volunteer Organization) is the most prominent flag-bearer of the Hindutva politics whose cadres presently rule India, the largest democracy in the world. RSS was founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889-1940) in 1925 who was disillusioned with the Indian freedom st

Regional parties, anti-Congress progressives, civil society groups 'joining' Bharat Jodo

By Harshavardhan Purandare, Sandeep Pandey* The Congress party declared Bharat Chhodo (Quit India) movement against the British regime in 1942. The Congress party has now launched a movement Bharat Jodo (Connecting and Uniting India) against the Modi regime in 2022. Indian people have had a journey of 80 years since Mahatma Gandhi gave that Quit India call to the British and we have to agree that we stand most divided in our modern history when Rahul Gandhi is giving this Bharat Jodo call to the nation. And back then, Congress was a thriving idealistic political movement against the British rulers and now it is an ever weakening political organization electorally defeated several times. However, it is India at stake, not just the Congress party. That is why so many regional political parties, civil society organizations, traditional anti-Congress progressive forces like socialists and communists, intellectuals and civil servants have declared their support and are proactively partici

Shocking? No Covid vaccine trials conducted on pregnant, lactating women: RTI reply

By Rosamma Thomas* A Right to Information applicant who sought details of safety trials conducted in India on pregnant and lactating women for three Covid vaccines in use in India – Covishield, Covaxin and ZyCov-D -- was shocked to learn from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) that Serum Institute, manufacturer of Covishield, and Cadila Healthcare, manufacturer of the ZyCov-D vaccine, had not sought permission for such trials. Bharat Biotech, manufacturer of Covaxin, had sought permission for trial on pregnant women and later withdrawn its application. This response , provided after the applicant was initially unsatisfied with the response and went in appeal, is from the joint drugs controller, CDSCO. It was dated September 13, 2022. One researcher closely following the vaccine rollout, however, is of the opinion that the lack of a trial on pregnant and lactating women is a blessing; potential trial participants and their unborn babies thus escaped harm. Aruna Ro

Grave error? Scholar blames ex-Gujarat babu for anti-Christian riots 'citing fake report'

By Rajiv Shah A few days back, I received a message from one of the finest former Gujarat government bureaucrats, PG Ramrakhiani, a 1964 batch IAS official, who retired in November 2000. I would often interact with him in 1997-99, even later, after I was sent to Gandhinagar as a Times of India man to cover Sachivalaya. Those were turbulent times. Shankarsinh Vaghela was the Gujarat chief minister, under attack from two sides – from the BJP, which he had left to form a separate breakaway party, Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP), one one hand, and the Congress, which was supporting him from outside, on the other. Ramrakhiani, in his message, referred to the book authored by Ghanshyam Shah and Jan Breman, both top-notch scholars who have known Gujarat in and out. Called “Gujarat, Cradle and Harbinger of Identity Politics: India’s Injurious Frame of Communalism”, I reviewed the book in January 2022. It claims that Muslims in Gujarat have been turned into “new untouchables”, thanks to the Hin

Excess to cheetah in Kuno to increase 'woes' of local people, 'disturb' wildlife balance

Bharat Dogra* The release of eight cheetahs into the Kuno National Park ( Madhya Pradesh) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 17, although accompanied by a media blitz, has raised several questions. The animals were flown from Namibia to Gwalior and from there they were taken to the release site in a helicopter. Official sources have stated that this is the first time a large carnivorous species has been moved across continents for establishing a new population. This first release will be followed by others under this project. However, precisely for this reason, it is important to be cautious because if such translocations have been generally avoided in the past, there may have been reasons for this and at the same time we do not have much learning experiences from the past. The Cheetah became extinct in India in 1952, although this very fast moving animal is still remembered in the folklore of many areas. Hence the first impulse is to say that trying to introduce and revive

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Introducing non-native cheetahs is 'not equivalent' to restoring pride in the nation

By Bappaditya Mukhopadhyay* The Cheetahs from the African continent has finally been introduced to India by the Indian Prime Minister on his 72nd birthday. The process had started with the previous Government in 2009. However, the Supreme Court clearance was pending owing to the objection by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) plea to reintroduce cheetahs. Finally the clearance was obtained in January 2020 and thereafter Kuno National Park (KNP) was chosen for the reintroduction of first set of Southeast African Cheetahs. In the near future, depending upon the success story of the current reintroduction, more cheetahs from South Africa may also be introduced. This exercise has generated a lot of interest among various stakeholders with opinions on both sides galore. It is important to pose some questions that surround the whole exercise. Let us evaluate some of these arguments. The first set of arguments are quite detached from the issues of conservation as they most

'Military diplomacy': US praises Bangladesh Army for leadership role in UN operations

By Kamal Uddin Mazumder* As the Indo-Pacific region represents the world’s economic and strategic center of gravity, the Indian Ocean today is becoming the centerpiece of all geo-strategic play. Cooperation in the region is crucial to implementing the international community’s global agenda, including achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Major powers like the US have enhanced and deepened their strategic engagement and leadership roles with countries in the region. The Indo-Pacific Army Management Seminar, or IPAMS, is a U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) initiated conference that is aimed at facilitating and enhancing interactions among the armies of the Indo-Pacific region. This year's 46th Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar (IPAMS)-2022, co-hosted by the Bangladesh Army and US Army Pacific (USARPAC), concluded in Dhaka. The objective of IPAMS is to promote peace and stability in the region through mutual understanding, dialogue, and friendship. It is the largest confer

Counterview

Search This Blog