6,000 miles away, son sees father in Kashmir on TV

August 14, 2019

Ever since the unilateral decision of the Government of India to revoke the special status of Kashmir and to severe all means of communication such as mobile and landline phones, internet, newspapers, news channels, cable TVs the people of Kashmir have not been able to contact their loved ones in other parts of India and the world.

Students in other states have been desperate to contact their parents and to go home for Eid on 12th but have not been able to.

Those living abroad have been worried about their folks back home as they have not been able to contact them from the last 8 days.

One post on Facebook by Shafat Gangoo where he shared his emotions saying he is heartbroken on not being able to contact his family and then suddenly he sees his father on the TV requesting the army personnel to allow him to go for the Eid Namaz; was particularly heart-melting.

Shafat Gangoo’s post on facebook

TwoCircles.net chatted up with Shafat Gangoo, who is a surgeon in the National Health Services of United Kingdom, Cambridge. Shafat said, “I have been unable to contact my parents from the day the revocation was announced. And I have been thinking about them constantly and more on Eid. And then I saw my dad on the TV and tears rolled down my eyes”.

Shafat has been living there from the last 14 years and visits at least twice a year. His mother has recently undergone major heart surgery and is on medication. Says a worried Shafat, “Mom is on life-saving drugs. How can she survive without these drugs?”

He has been following the news and knows that people are having a hard time to move out and need curfew passes. He shared that he got emotional on seeing his father on BBC News and also angry that his father had to plead to go to the mosque for the prayers. “They stopped my dad from going to the mosque” He repeated with sadness.

“I don’t know how long this will go on. But I am constantly worried about my aged father and mother who is unwell. I also don’t know what the Indian Government wants to do by making our lives miserable. This looks like a war on civilians” he said.

However, he is most eager for things to become normal so he can fly home.

Courtesy: Two Circle

Growing Monopoly of Reliance

August 14, 2019

Why did Reliance decide to sell 20% of its shares?

Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Aramco, will be acquiring 20% of shares of the Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries’ oil-to-chemicals division. Why did Reliance decide to sell 20% of its shares? Meanwhile, Reliance has decided to provide broadband services at lower prices from September 5, which would take the company closer to having a monopoly over India’s digital communication sector. NewsClick spoke with senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta on the issue.

Courtesy: News Click

Impact of state repression? Kashmir’s 65% people prefer independence: Cambridge study

August 14, 2019

Even as the Government of India’s controversial move to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcate Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) into two union territories is not only refusing to down die but has acquired international dimensions, a recent study, published by the Cambridge University Press, has reported “pro-independence attitudes” among that 65% of Kashmiris, warning, this sentiment worsens when the state machinery resorts “repressive violence”.

Based on analysis of a sample size of 2,522 (49% female, 51% male), many of whom are interviewed face-to-face, the study says that “violent repression” by the state has caused greater identification with the “irredentist neighbour”, Pakistan. In fact, it goes a long way to underline, exposure to state violence has led to decline in “national identification” with India. Thus, if independence is not an option, “subjects preferring India over Pakistan declines by nine percentage points, from 61% to 52%.

Published in “International Organization”, a quarterly peer review academic journal, authors of the study, “Violence Exposure and Ethnic Identification: Evidence from Kashmir”, Gautam Nair and Nicholas Sambanis wonder, “If state-led repression serves to strengthen parochial and non-national identities, then why do governments turn to violence in the first place?”

They provide the following answer: “While national identification declines when study subjects are exposed to the violence treatment, they are also significantly less likely … to say they would participate in peaceful protests.” Which suggests, by using repression, the government deters “moderates from collective action, even as the seeds of future grievances are sown.”

While the education level of the sample is low (36.4% of the subjects are not formally educated), “not atypical compared to the rest of India”, the median monthly household income is between Rs 5,000 and 10,000. Those interviewed are mostly labourers, students, agriculture workers, and small business owners. About 7% work in the State government, and very few (0.4%) are with the Central government. About 93% are Muslims, 5% Shias, and just 0.2% Hindus.

According to the study, “People are distrustful of the state (63% report that they never trust the government referring to the State government; 89% report distrusting the Central government of India); and they are even more distrustful of the media (89%).” It adds, “Over 90% report distrust toward the Indian army and negative attitudes extend to the local police (82%).”

The authors insist, “These negative views seem to be supported by a widely shared perception of increasing human rights violations (64% of the sample think these have increased over the previous two years, compared to 22% who think they have decreased).” This, they add, is happening at a time when those interviewed feel that rights violations are taking place in “a climate of decreasing insurgent violence.”

The study states, “Survey subjects for the most part (55%) share the view that militancy has decreased. This suggests a shared perception of unwarranted repression by the state. About 38% of respondents claim to have personally witnessed violence by the police or army and even fewer (7%) report having been injured by violence.”

It adds, “The vast majority of respondents rank their regional or religious identities as most important to them and their national identity comes last. The privileging of parochial identities at the expense of the national one is reflected in clear evidence of in-group bias: On average, 75% of respondents’ donations go to the Kashmir-only NGO and only 25% to the all-India NGO.”

When respondents are asked to rank their religious, ethnic, national and occupational identities in order of how important they are to them, the authors say, “The national identity is ranked last”, with “the proportion of individuals who see themselves as either Indian or Indian and Kashmiri” declining “from 23% to 19%”.

Further, “While the proportion of less-educated respondents who see themselves as Indian or Indian and Kashmiri remains unchanged (19%) when these study subjects are exposed to violence, the equivalent proportion declines from 32% to 17% among those with at least a secondary school education.”

The study finds, “High-education respondents ranked their Indian identity lower after being exposed to violence and reduced the amount they donated to the NGO working all over India by one-third, reducing their allocation from 31.4% to 19.9%. Among the more educated subgroup, the proportion who believe that Kashmir should remain a part of India (rather than becoming independent or joining Pakistan) declines from 27 percent to 21 percent.”

“When faced with a binary choice of Kashmir joining Pakistan or remaining part of India, support for remaining with India falls by more than a quarter – from 59% to 43%, compared to a smaller fall (seven percentage points) among the less educated”, it adds.

Development strategies based on increasing rates of economic growth, investment will not be sufficient to end Kashmir conflict

Contrary to the belief among India’s ruling politicians that development in Kashmir would take care of many of these issues, the study states, “Only about one-third of respondents felt that India’s economic growth would benefit them; the remainder either noted that the growth would not benefit them personally or else provided an irrelevant answer… Nor did a majority think that India’s rapid economic growth would change how it is seen around the world.”

Comment the authors, “We interpret this as consistent with a pre-existing large psychological distance from the nation because of a history of conflict and mutual suspicion. Kashmiris who do not see themselves as part of the nation will not expect to benefit from India’s economic power and are less likely to accept (or state) that India’s international status is rising.”

They add, “Our study suggests that development strategies based on increasing rates of economic growth will not be sufficient to end the conflict.” As regards “design and timing of peace-building strategies based on investments”, such investments are “unlikely to be successful unless threats to security are first addressed. Ongoing violence generates enmity and suspicion that diminish the potential of integrative policies.”

The study warns, “Reclaiming lost parts of the homeland has motivated enduring conflicts between China and Taiwan, North and South Korea, Greece and Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serbia and Croatia, Somalia and Ethiopia, and in other cases.”

In fact, it says, “Irredentism has been a feature of major wars, including Germany’s and Hungary’s land grabs prior to and during World War II. Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 was a reminder that irredentism is as important today as it is understudied.” It adds, world over, “presence of cross-border kin groups is a risk factor for civil war.”

First published on https://www.counterview.net/

Judgement in Pehlu Khan Case tomorrow: 2017 Lynching, Alwar

August 13, 2019

The court of additional district judge first (ADJF) in Alwar will pronounce the judgment in the lynching of Pehlu Khan case tomorrow, on August 14.

Photo: YouTube screengrab

The trial has been recently completed, two years after Pehlu Khan, the dairy farmer from Nuh, who was lynched by a mob at least 200 people who called themselves as ‘gau rakshaks’ or cow vigilantes. After hearing the final arguments in the case against the accused, additional district judge of the local court Sarita Swami posted the case for judgment on 14 August. About 45 witnesses have given their statements including 2 sons of Pehlu Khan who survived the mob assault.

Pehlu Khan, 55 years and 6 others were travelling back to their village in Nuh after purchasing cows and calves from a cattle fair in Jaipur, Rajasthan on April 1. Pehlu Khan wanted to increase the milk production in his dairy and had purchased the cows for this purpose. They were stopped at a crossing at Jaipur-Delhi national high way by cow vigilantes who accused them of smuggling the cows for slaughter. Pehlu Khan, was brutally beaten up by these self-styled cow vigilantes near Behror in Rajasthan on the Delhi-Alwar highway on April 1, accusing him of smuggling cattle. He succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital. The lynching was caught on camera. The attackers were not convinced even when Pehlu Khan and others showed them the legal documents of the purchase they had made at the fair or when they were told the cows were purchased for their dairy. The frenzied Hindutva mob tore up the documents and beat Pehlu Khan, his 2 sons and others who were with them with sticks and rods.

Pehlu Khan succumbed to severe injuries and died on April 3-4, 2017. Others were seriously injured. The mob also robbed these persons of their cell phones and money. Before Pehlu’s death he recorded a dying declaration against six persons. Ironically the six persons against whom there was this direct evidence were given a ‘clean chit” by CID Crime!

There were two FIRs registered in the case. One was against the mob for beating Pehlu Khan to death and second against him and his family for transporting cattle (cow) illegally out of the state. The police had earlier given a clean chit to the six people accused of lynching Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer. The police’s decision was reportedly based on statements of the staff of a cow shelter and mobile phone records.

The police had registered cases against some of the accused for voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restrain and culpable homicide and later added murder after the death of Pehlu Khan.

Shockingly, the Rajasthan Police filed a chargesheet for cow smuggling against Pehlu Khan, who was allegedly lynched in 2017 by a mob of ‘gau rakshaks’ in Alwar for transporting cattle, and his two sons. The police chargesheeted Pehlu Khan’s sons Irsad (25) and Arif (22) under sections 5, 8 and 9 while charges have been framed against the deceased under section 6 of the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995. The chargesheet against Pehlu Khan was prepared on December 30 last year, 13 days after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s government came into power in Rajasthan.Section 5 of the RBA Act pertains to the prohibition of the export of bovine animals for the purpose of slaughter and regulation of temporary migration or export for other purposes, while section 6 says the transporter is also an abettor and is liable for the same punishment as the person committing the offence.Section 8 is about the penalty for such offences while Section 9 mentions punishment for causing hurt to a bovine animal. In 2018, the previous BJP government in the state had filed a similar chargesheet against two associates of Pehlu Khan, who were also attacked by the mob.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot responded to the backlash saying, “Investigation of this case was done in the past during BJP government and charge sheet was presented. If any discrepancies will be found in the investigation, case will be re-investigated.”

In October 2017, an independent investigation by journalist Ajit Sahi had highlighted the unprofessionalism in the investigations.

Journalist Ajit Sahi’s 4-month investigation reveals police inaction
Appears to be a pattern in around 30 similar lynchings: Sahi
Lynching cases, including Pehlu Khan’s, likely to be clubbed and moved to courts

10 LOOPHOLES

1. The FIR says that the police first heard of Pehlu Khan at 4:24 am on April 2. The incident happened around 7 pm on April 1 and just 2 km from the police station.

2. Even though the police had not heard of the incident till the early hours of April 2, the dying declaration of Pehlu Khan had already been recorded by the police at 11:50 pm on April 1.

3. It was in fact the police who had brought Khan and his son to the hospital half an hour after the lynching took place on April 1. But The FIR however does not name the policemen as witnesses.

4. Pehlu Khan, a resident of Nuh in Haryana, was a stranger in Alwar and yet named the six as his assailants as well as the right-wing organisations that they worked for. The police ignored the dying declaration and gave all the 6 a clean chit.

5. The alibi the six came up with was that they were at a gaushala at the time of the lynching. Coincidentally, one of the accused is the caretaker of the gaushala and the eyewitnesses to the alibi are all employees of the caretaker.

6. The six also said in their alibi that their mobile phones were not at the crime scene. The police chose to take this as conclusive evidence.

7. The accused were absconding for 5 months but mysteriously appeared before the police when called and recorded their statements that they were not at the crime scene.

8. If the above was not enough, the post mortem report is another revelation. Three government doctors at Behror said the death was due to injuries sustained during the attack.

9. The police chose to overlook the report of government doctors and instead relied upon the testimony of doctors at a private hospital Kailash Hospital, which coincidentally belongs to Union minister Mahesh Sharma.

10. The private doctors said Pehlu Khan was fine when he came to the hospital but at the same time admitted that he was bleeding from the nose and complaining of chest pain. The doctors concluded Khan died of a heart attack.

Here’s a timeline of the case:

April 1, 2017: Pehlu Khan and few others were returning from Jaipur to his village in Nuh, Haryana, carrying cows.
Ø A group of cow vigilantes stopped them on Behror highway and started thrashing them over suspicion that the bovines were being illegally transported.
Ø Pehlu Khan was seriously injured and rushed to a hospital.
Ø His mates in the van also received injuries.

April 2, 2017: Instead of registering a case against the mob that thrashed Khan and his mates, Rajasthan Police register a complaint against Khan and his sons Irshad and Arif under the Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995.

April 3, 2017: Pehlu Khan succumbs to his injuries at around 7 PM in the hospital.

April 5, 2017: Police file a murder case against the attackers and put a reward of Rs 5,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the suspects.
Ø FIR lodged against the gau rakshaks under IPC Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 147 (destruction of property), 308 (culpable homicide) and 379 (theft). After Khan’s death, the police have added Section 302 (murder) as well.
Ø Police arrest 3 people in connection with the case.

April 6, 2017: Reports on Pehlu Khan’s statement given to the police start emerging.
Ø In the statement, Khan had named gau rakshaks allegedly linked to Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).

April 7, 2017: The Rajasthan government submits a preliminary report to the Home Ministry about the incident.
Ø One more arrest made in connection with the case, taking the total number of arrests to 4.
Ø MHA constitutes a special team to investigate and arrest the culprits.
Ø The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issues notice to Rajasthan government in the lynching of Pehlu Khan in Alwar by cow vigilantes.
Ø Commission also asks Union Home Ministry to inform about the steps being taken to deal with such incidents in the country.

April 9, 2017: Alwar Police arrests 2 more people in connection with the case, taking the number of arrests to 6.

April 20, 2017: Vipin Yadav, one of the six people named in the FIR lodged after Khan’s death, is compared with freedom fighter Bhagat Singh by a self-styled god-woman.

May 3, 2017: A 17-year-old youth detained by the Alwar Police in connection with the Pehlu Khan lynching case.
Ø The accused, who is a school student, was identified on the basis of a video in which a mob is seen assaulting Khan and others.

May 11, 2017: Rajasthan Police changes the investigation officer (IO) in the case.
Ø The probe is taken away from the deputy SP of Alwar police and handed over to an additional SP of Jaipur rural police.

May, 2017: Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje breaks her silence over increasing mob violence. Says, “Mob violence is unacceptable and those found guilty will be severely punished”.

June 12, 2017: Around 50 cow vigilantes target officials of the Tamil Nadu government transporting cows from Jaisalmer to their state, pelt stones at a truck and block National Highway 15 on suspicion of cattle smuggling in Rajasthan’s Barmer district.

June 16, 2017: A CPI-ML worker Zafar Khan was allegedly lynched by civic sanitation workers in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district when he tried to stop the civic body workers from photographing women defecating in the open.

July 9, 2017: Alwar lynching case is transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department – Crime Branch (CB-CID). This is the third time the case changed hands.

August 31, 2017: Rajasthan High Court grants bail to 19-year-old Vipin Yadav.

September 13, 2017: Rajasthan Police gives a clean chit to six men accused in the killing of Pehlu Khan.
The police came to the decision based on statements of the staff of a cow shelter and mobile phone records, a daily reported.

Cow Slaughter Prevention Laws in India https://cjp.org.in/cow-slaughter-prevention-laws-in-india/
Murder of Pehlu Khan
Shocking! Alwar lynching victim Pehlu Khan chargsheeted posthumously by the Congress government

Fact-Finding Report on J & K to be released tomorrow

August 13, 2019

A solidarity team consisting of Jean Dreze (economist), Kavita Krishnan (AIPWA), Maimoona Mollah (AIDWA) and Vimalbhai (NAPM) just returned from extensive travels in Kashmir. The situation on the ground, they found, is completely different from what has been reported in the Indian media so far.The team will release a report along with photo and video documentation at a press conference tomorrow (14 August) at the Press Club, New Delhi, starting at 12 pm. Copies of the report will also be released.

Curfew lifted in Jammu, normal life resumes

Image Courtesy: PTI

Related Articles:
1. Government’s Decision on Jammu and Kashmir: A Long Leap into Unconstitutionality
2.Why do we protest? Mumbai citizens speak on the lockdown in Kashmir, Article 370
3. Democracy Aaj Kal : Article 370 & Has India lost its moral high ground on Kashmir?

Special task forces will be created to usher ‘development’ in J, K & Ladakh: Mukesh Ambani

August 13, 2019

On Monday, August 12, Reliance Industries chairman, Mukesh Ambani said that his company will invest in Jammu and Kashmir.

This came a week to a day after the NDA II government tool drastic steps to abrogate Article 370. Article 370, which gives Jammu and Kashmir special status, was abrogated on August 5 and a new bill Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill, 2019 was introduced. This bill divided the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories (UTs), namely Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Following the abrogation the Prime Minister Modi called on businesses to “invest” in J&K and Ladakh. He said Ladakh has a huge potential for eco and religious tourism, and it can also be a solar power hub. “I urge companies to come forward, we need to take products of the region to the world,” Modi had said. Ambani’s statement came after this call. He was addressing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries and said, “You will see several announcements for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in the coming days.”

He also added that Reliance Industries would create a special task force for developmental activities in J&K and Ladakh.

Apart from Reliance Industries, Amul and the hospitality chain, Lemon Tree have expressed their interest in “investing in the region.”

Earlier, while presenting the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill in Parliament, Home Minister Amit Shah had claimed that one of the reasons for this move was to bring “development” to the region. Many, especially on social media, rejoiced the move as they felt that now the prospects of “buying land” had opened up for them in the state, which had struggled hard to preserve its identity so far. In the subsequent days, many platforms refuted such claims and elaborated that the human development indicators in the state, were in fact, better than many states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Ambani added that RIL had “built a unique portfolio of world class” and “extremely valuable assets” in the “world’s fastest-growing economy”. . “It is my passion and conviction that New India will lead and not follow the advanced nations of the world in adopting, even creating disruptive technologies that will decide the winners and losers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he added.

Holy Cow: Indian Political Chessboard

August 13, 2019

Lynching alone has not been the only fallout of making the Holy Cow central to the agenda of Hindu nationalist BJP and its co-travellers towards Hindu Rashtra. In the dreaded phenomenon of lynching, the major victims have been the religious minorities and dalits, as highlighted in the letter of 49 eminent film and other personalities. This is just the beginning of the story about Cow. Much more is in store.

Now, Shrikant Sharma, a Minister in the Yogi Cabinet in UP, has announced a scheme whereby those tending to stray cattle will be paid Rs 30 per day and the Government has budgeted Rs. 110 crores for the same. This has been necessitated as the stray cattle, particularly Cows, have increased tremendously in number due to the vicious atmosphere created by the Cow vigilantes. These cattle are attacking the fields of the farmers, causing a huge loss to the already sagging agrarian economy. Many an accidents are taking place due to the large number of stray cattle.

Another point, which most of us missed, was the one mentioned in the Election Manifesto of BJP (2019). It promised the formation of ‘National Cow Commission’ (Rashtriya Kamdehenu Aayog) with a budget of Rs 500 cores. This commission will plan to set up Kamdhenu Chairs in Universities, for the study of and increasing awareness about the virtues of the Cow. This commission has the task of setting up housing colonies around cowsheds and medical shops for Cow products, among others. While one needs to welcome the development of rural economy, where the cattle find more organized and scientific utilization, singling out the Cow for this honour is a purely political ploy.

One more fallout of Cow vigilantism has been the coming up of many groups involved in extortion from the cattle traders and transporters. Niranjan Takle, an investigative journalist, found out that the going rate for transporting trucks with Cows is Rs 15000 per truck and for buffaloes, it is Rs 6500 per truck. This is for half the part of the travel. He could find this out by posing as a cattle trader called Rafiq Qureshi.

This extortion is related to leather trade as he points out that after the slaughter the leather is to be given to the middle men. These vigilante groups also resort to intermittent violence to keep up the pressure, which keeps the regular extortion racket going.

The other interesting point is that, while on the one hand, India is inching towards the top of the table in lynching incidents, on the other hand, it is also emerging as the top exporter of beef. Contrary to the popular notion, the major people profiting from this trade are not Muslims but Hindus/Jains. Look at some of these companies which lead in beef export – Al Kabeer, Arabian Exports, MKR Frozen Food, Al Noor, etc. Their names give an impression that they are owned by Muslims. The fact is, most of them are owned by Hindus or Jains.

This Cow/beef issue has been brought up mainly for the agenda of polarization. There are claims that there have been no major riots during BJP rule. The fact is that, while no spectacular riots have been orchestrated, low intensity violence and lynching around the Cow/beef issue have been marshalled to achieve this purpose of polarization to a greater effect. We know that Cows were sacrificed during the Vedic period and beef was consumed. Apart from the scholarly works of Dr. Ambedkar (‘Who were the Shudras’) and Prof D. N Jha (‘Myth of Holy Cow’), Swami Vivekananda draws our attention to the same fact. He points out that Cow meat was consumed during the Vedic period. It was also the object of sacrifice in the Vedic rituals. While speaking to a large gathering in USA, he said: “You will be astonished if I tell you that, according to old ceremonials, he is not a good Hindu who does not eat beef. On certain occasions he must sacrifice a bull and eat it.” (Vivekananda, cited in Swami Vivekananda, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol 3 (Calcutta: Advaita Ashram, 1997), p. 536.)

While the currently prevalent Hindu nationalism draws mainly from the RSS stock, the other main Hindu nationalist stream has been that of the Hindu Mahasabha, to which Savarkar belonged. He is a great inspirational figure for the RSS combine, but had a different opinion on the Cow. He said that the Cow is the mother of bulls not of humans. Also, that it is a useful animal and should be treated as such. In Vigyan Nishta Nibandh (Pro Science Essays), he writes that Cows should be protected because they are useful to humans, not because they are divine. Among the two streams of Hindu nationalism, RSS and Hindu Mahasabha, RSS is the one ruling the roost, and is using Cow as an identity issue to divide the society.

Interestingly, the same BJP, which is creating such mayhem in the name of the Cow in large parts of North India, is quiet on this issue in Kerala, Goa and the North East. On the eve of Independence, Dr. Rajendra Prasad approached Mahatma with an appeal to get Cow slaughter banned. Gandhi’s reply is an ideal which should guide our plural society. “In India, no law can be made to ban cow slaughter. I do not doubt that Hindus are forbidden the slaughter of cows. I have long pledged to serve the cow, but how can my religion also be the religion of the rest of the Indians? It will mean coercion against those Indians who are not Hindus…. It is not as if there were only Hindus in the Indian Union. There are Muslims, Parsis, Christians, and other religious groups here. The assumption of the Hindus, that India has now become the land of the Hindus, is erroneous. India belongs to all who live here.”

So, while the country waits for welfare measures to raise the indices of our social life, the BJP rulers are more focused on allocating budget on Cow tending or promotionor pseudo research, which, in no way, serves the purpose of much needed social welfare.

Gujarat pushing towards flooding: Sardar Sarovar Dam levels rise

August 13, 2019

Activists demand a restriction in water levels to 122 meters and demand the rehabilitation of 32,000 families

Detailed updates from ground level activists of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) reveal that the water levels in Sardar Sarovar dam is rising fast owing to the Gujarat government’s decision to fill the reservoir to 138.68 meter over the course of the next 50 days, to the full reservoir level (FRL) of the reservoir. Media reports statethat the government will “regulate” the flows in “such a manner that the water level will rise by 0.30 m every 48 hours.

This year, the situation on the ground, is increasingly reaching an alarming level. On August 12, activists have reported that two people died because of electric shock from the water. They predict large scale destruction over the next few days. Activists with the NBA have demanded that water level rise should be stopped at 122 meters; also that court orders related to the protection and rehabilitation of people living in downstream and upstream (dam) areas should be followed. Today, women and men activists, under the banner of “JeevanRekhaAndolan” have blocked the Agra-Delhi Highway demanding that the government restricts the water levels to 122 meters. There are reports emerging of considerable violence unleashed on the protesters as we go to press.

In a detailed press note issued on Monday, NBA activists have predicted that if the water level keeps increasing at this alarming speed, as many as 32,000 families stand at the risk of facing a “water calamity”.The water level touched an unprecedented limit at 131.50 m on Friday. After this, the government released six lakh cusecs of water into the downstream and the Narmada main canal. Ten gates were opened on Friday, first time ever since independence.

The managing director Rajiv Gupta of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) reportedlysaidthat it was “essential to test the dam at full reservoir level” as this had not been done since the gates were installed in 2017.” He added, “The state government will adhere to the norms laid down in the dam safety manual while filling the dam to FRL in the next 50 days.” Notably, in his own words dam hasn’t been “tested at FRL because of deficient rainfall in earlier years.”However, past experience suggests that authorities are usually ill prepared to handle any disasters which may come in the way, especially a flood like situation.

Chief minister Vijay Rupani even performed a “puja” at the dam site on Friday, August 000 to ‘mark’ the 131.50 m ‘milestone’. According to a Times of India report, in Surat at least 2300 families were shifted to safer locations from different areas located on the Narmada River in Bharuch district on Friday
A press release issued by Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) on August 12 highlights the gravity of the situation. Activists have claimed that Narmada is flowing at a level of 9 meters above the danger level. And that it has reached the villages which have been impacted by the Sardar Sarovar dam.In the Manavar tehsil, more than 4000 families are settled in 17 villages and haven’t been rehabilitated properly, they claim. In villages such as Kavathi, Uradana, Ekalbara, Gangli etc., the path leading to the farmland has been blocked as water has entered the fields. Activists have claimed that this is a “flood like situation”.
Many of these villages, according to the chief minister’s own reported statements are yet to be compensated upto an amount of Rs. 5,80,000 as per the directives of a Supreme Court order of February 8, 2017.Moreover, the places which were allotted as compensation and rehabilitation remain deprived off basic amenities such as water, electricity, road connectivity etc.

As the tributaries of river Narmada are also filled upto the brim, the situation is quickly escalating at an alarming rate. The NBA has also observed, “If the water level goes beyond 138 meters, then many thousands of families will get submerged without rehabilitation of a house or land.” “In such a situation, where will people go?” it asked.

Further, the press release said,the route to the hamlets located in lower regions of village Ekkalbara are filled with waters from the backwater. The villagers are completely blocked from all sides, and because of this, even for their basic needs, the villagers have to risk their lives in order to get the basic ration etc. One villager named Galsing who went to purchase ration escaped death by a margin. Despite this serious situation, as per the NBA activists, nobody has come to survey or study the area. The village’s approximately 80 percent or 3000 acre land is completely surrounded by water from all sides.

The fields in villages Kavathi and Gangli have been submerged because of Narmada water. Kavathi too, has been turned into an island. A Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report had highlighted how there were discrepancies in execution of works like granting of tenders and unjustified, higher payments that caused financial losses to the government.

Another very important fact is that most river dams, which may flood if they fail, were not prepared for disaster management. The same CAG report revealed that only 349 dams out of 4862 completed dams in the country have emergency disaster management plans.

To ensure the proper inspection, maintenance and surveillance of existing dams, the Dam Safety Legislation was initiated in 2010. The policy remains on paper, yet to be given the shape of law and enacted, even in August 2016, the CAG report had stated. In most states, pre and post monsoon inspections weren’t carried out. Programmes for maintenance of dams were not prepared and adequate funds were not provided to carry out structural/repair works.

An analytical report published in 2015 had pointed out that one problem faced “by dam operators is that filling the reservoir early in the monsoon may result in excess discharge and floods later on”. In 2015, in the case of Hirakud dam on the river Mahanadi, a large quantum release from its reservoir displaced as many as two million people in 20 of state’s 30 districts. The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) analysis of the data of the past 100 years says there is no deviation, suggesting a significant change in rainfall patterns. Ajit Tyagi, director general of IMD, however, noted, “But yes, excessive variability and localised events towards end-August and September are forcing release of huge quantum of water from dam reservoirs”.

A DownToEarth report hashighlighted activists’ concerns that the operators sitting in hot spot are often slow in reacting to information on inflow of water and rainfall in the catchment. It also noted the “typical” response by authorities, “there was a sudden influx of water due to incessant rains in the catchment; there is no way to avert these disasters”

There is also much debate around the entrenched belief that building dams actually help in preventing floods. As per Shripad Dharamdhikari, founder of Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, a non-profit that researches water issues, one problem with dams “is that they attenuate lower magnitude floodwater, thereby creating a sense of security. So when the peak floods come, the damage is far greater than otherwise”.

Experts have also predicted that as climate change occurs, flood situations are likely to worsen due to poor management of dams.

A committee constituted by the Ministry of Irrigation in the 1980s to review the existing practices of maintenance of dams in various states and to evolve standard guidelines for the same, said in a report published in 1982, “it is essential to release water as soon as flood-like situations develop.” The report admits that “the existence of a dam upstream of the floodplain may either mitigate the extent of the calamity or accentuate it.” It is essential, therefore, to develop operating rules with built-in factor of safety and adequate and efficient warning system to formulate accurate forecasts on the time lag when rain in the catchment results in increased inflow to the reservoir.”

In 2015, 96 dams in Gujarat were puton high alert following heavy rainfall on the evening of September 11, many of them were full to their capacities, including the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam in Kevadia.

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