|
|
|
|
|
Himachal hydel projects |
|
|
This above all
TOUCHSTONE
On the record by
PROFILE
|
Himachal hydel projects
The
roaring rapids of the Sutlej are well on the way to be silenced and breathtaking sights of the life-sustaining river wiped off the mighty Himalayas in Himachal if all hydroelectric projects proposed are commissioned by 2022, as planned. Thus far, there is little reason why they would not. What will remain is a dry riverbed, dotted with manmade reservoirs built to divert water into long tunnels bored under the towering mountains for power generation. When the full potential of all projects is attained, they would generate a massive 10,723 MW (approximately equal to all of Punjab’s current estimated requirement). The series of hydroelectric (hydel) projects will ensure that the 230-km stretch of the river from Shipke La — where it enters India from China — to Koldam will have 135 km of tunnels, which will effectively kill 160 km length of the river. The remaining 70 km will be subsumed in reservoirs. Independent power producers are opposing the Centre’s decision to make a riparian distance of 1-2 km between two projects mandatory. The fate of the Ravi (3,011 MW), Chenab (3,132 MW) and the Pabbar (887 MW) will be no different, as the government has assigned projects on these without bothering about the riparian distance. Only the Beas (5,712 MW) river will be spared to an extent, as no projects have been planned between Aut and Manali. Going nocturnal The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has allowed independent power producers to indulge in what is called “hydro-peaking”, which will cause rivers to run only at night during the lean winter months, when the discharge in rivers declines to about 20 per cent. In this, the “run of the river” projects will store water during the day, and release it in the evening to run the turbines, when the demand for power peaks. As a result, rivers will remain virtually dry during the day. Small is big loss The cascade of 648 small and big projects planned will have serious implications for the hill people, who have already set off agitations across the state. While large projects with big reservoirs are being opposed by environmentalists all over the country, in Himachal small projects too are seen as a curse by villagers. The reason is most villages are perched on hillsides, which are served by streams — large rivers run at the bottom of valleys between hills. Nearly 400 small projects (up to 5 MW) are coming up on streams and rivulets, which cater to villagers’ needs of drinking water and irrigation. The streams also have religious significance, with funeral grounds located on their banks. People are not much dependent on the main rivers. The Centre had framed a policy to provide subsidy on small projects for harnessing streams for the benefit of local people. However, the projects turned out to be a goldmine for private companies — mostly from outside the state — and a curse for villagers. They allege overexploitation, citing more than six projects planned on certain streams, such as the Neogli Khad (eight projects) in Shimla and the Chanju Nullah (six) in the ecologically fragile Chamba. In Sweden, 20 per cent of the hydel potential has been left unexploited to protect the environment. Villagers also say that the long tunnels under the mountains have disrupted the natural aquifers, as a result of which natural springs are drying up, leading to shortage of water for drinking and irrigation. This has affected apple orchards in Kinnaur. Him Dhara, a Himachal-based environment action group, obtained data under the Right to Information Act from the Irrigation and Public Health Department, which revealed that 43 out of 167 water sources had dried up in villages affected by the Karchham Wangtoo project, and discharge in another 67 has gone down. R.S. Negi, a retired IAS officer who has set up an intellectual group Him Lok Jagriti Manch to create awareness, says the ecologically fragile alpine zone (above 7,000 ft altitude) should be spared, and riparian distance of 5 km or more should be maintained between projects to sustain livelihood and aquatic life. Locals fighting back The numerous projects coming up on small streams has villagers up in arms. Lal Chand Katoch of the Jal, Jungle and Zameen Bachao Samiti, who has been leading movements since 2003 in Kullu, alleges that instead of protecting the interests of the people, the government is backing private companies, which use muscle and money power to crush resistance. He has moved the high court to “save” the Haripur stream from a 1.5 MW project. The stream serves 19 villages, including 12 watermills and several fish farms, including an Indo-Norwegian Hatchery project, besides agriculture. Religious sentiments of people are also hurt when projects are allowed on sacred sites such as the Jogini waterfall, he adds. In Chamba, the Saal Ghaati Bachao Sangharsh Morcha has been fighting against a 4.5 MW project on the Hul stream. Rattan Chand, a leader of the Morcha, says nearly all big and small streams, except the Hul, in and around Chamba have been hit by projects. Manshi Asher, an environment researcher working with the Him Dhara, says the government must review the allotted projects on which work has not started yet. The cumulative impact on environment and people should be taken into consideration.
Environmental impact n
6,300 hectares of forest land diverted for projects and transmission lines. Lakhs of tress axed. n
Deforestation and sending water into tunnels increases ambient temperature. n
Debris from blasting and construction is dumped on slopes, damaging vegetation. n
Roads through virgin forests and reservoirs lead to fragmentation of wildlife habitat. Visheshwar Negi, a resident of Reckong Peo, says debris has buried pastures and disrupted traditional routes of shepherds. n
Apple production going down in certain areas, despite new plants being planted.
Policy decisions Several policy decisions have been taken to address environmental issues. Cumulative environment impact assessment is being carried out for each river basin and the catchment area treatment plans have been revamped with focus on bio-engineering and provision for incentives to the local people in securing watershed protection. The mandatory environmental discharge to be maintained at all times in the rivers is proposed to be increased from 15 to 20 per cent. Sudripta Roy, Chief Secretary (Additional Chief Secretary, Environment and Forests, till recently)
Matter of benefits Protests against various projects are not entirely due to the likely adverse impact. People who are not getting any direct benefits are also stalling work. Recently it has been decided that power companies will also distribute among the affected local residents money equivalent to the worth of 1 per cent of the power generated by a project. This will go a long way in placating people. Deepak Sanan, Principal Secretary, Power
Maintain balance Precious natural resources such as land, forests and water are being plundered in the name of harnessing the hydropower potential. A balance is required as projects cannot be allowed at the cost of environment and livelihood of the people. Kulbhushan Upmanyu, convenor of the Himalaya Niti Abhiyaan (umbrella body of state NGOs pursuing environment issues)
One thing that goes in favour of power projects is that they are a major source of revenue for a fund-starved state. The Himachal Government has sound economic reasons for exploiting its hydropower potential, a major source of non-tax revenue. The revenue from the power sector had shot up from Rs 29.6 crore in 2003-04 to a whopping Rs 1,255 crore in 2008-09, before falling to Rs 1,050 crore in 2011-12 due to decline in market rates. As per projected figures, the projects already allotted with an aggregate capacity of 12,798 MW – which are at various stages – will on completion by 2022 fetch the state 16,270 million units of free power per year as royalty. At current rates, that is worth Rs 4,393 crore. The best part of this income is that it comes without taxing the people, which is a bonus for the government. To counter the resistance to hydel projects, the government has made spending 2 per cent of the project cost for the benefit of the affected people mandatory. |
|
This above all
I asked: “Naveen, naveen shaadee hoi hai (Are you newly married)?” “Haan — pichhlay haftay” (Yes, only last week). “Gharwala kithey” (Where is your husband)? “Lunnan” (London). She took out a photograph of her husband and showed it to me. “Kee karda hai” (What does he do)? “Naukree” (Service). “Pahley milley sao” (Did you meet before)? “Na, na, sirf fotoo vekhee see” (No, no, only saw his picture). “Nikah kivain hoya” (How did you get married)? “Foon tay, Qazi Sahib nay usnoo foon marya, tay puchhia, meher kitnee deynga” (How much will you pay her as dowry)? Then he asked her on the phone: ‘Qabool ay?’ and she replied it was acceptable to her. He pronounced them man and wife, all done on the “foon”. So we chatted on and on through most of the night before we dozed off in the early hours of the dawn. I woke up and found myself holding her hand. At London’s Heathrow airport, we stepped out of the plane with me carrying her hand luggage. Her husband, relations and friends who had arrived at the airport in large numbers to welcome her were bewildered to see me. After embracing her in turns, they asked who I was? “Naal dee seat tey bathia see (he was in the seat next to me), naan shaan nahin pata (don’t know his name or anything). Gapouri bahut hai (he just kept on talking).” And finally she added: “Saaree raat suttey nahin” (We did not get a wink of sleep). I never got to know how she explained her conduct to her husband and in-laws. Fighting taliban I signalled to Ravi to cut the connection; I am expecting a call, I mouthed at him. He ignored me and continued to discuss some fine points of Quranic exegesis. I wrenched the receiver away from him. He would have resisted but for the fact that he was still clad in a precariously knotted towel, which had to be kept in place with one hand. “Hello, hello,” said the voice on the other end. Then it continued in chaste Urdu, “As the Quran Sharif says in its infinite wisdom…” “Excuse me”, I said in chaste Urdu too, “the connection is extremely bad. I cannot hear you very well”. There was a bit of beeping. The guy evidently had a team working on the technology. Volume and audibility increased. “Is it better now?” the anonymous proselytizer asked. “Hello, hello,” I replied, “I cannot hear you…” “Just a second, janaab. Don’t put down the phone”. “Hello,” I said, “hello, hello, hello….” I put the receiver down. The phone rang again in two seconds. I put it down once more with a string of strangulated hellos. Ravi came out of his room, buttoning his jeans, bare-chested, he shook his head. “You, my friend, are the reason why the infidels are winning,” he said. (Tabish Khair in ‘How to fight Islamist terror from the missionary position’, “Fourth Estate”). Matrimonial What does conferring of Honoris Causa degree amount to? Ans: “Bin phere, hum tere”. Gratis post Identify a post which one gets by chance. Ans: Chancellor More pull Q: What does having 21 chief parliamentary secretaries against 18 ministers in the Punjab Government mean? Ans: Moustache is longer than the beard. (Contributed by
K.J.S. Ahluwalia, Amritsar) |
TOUCHSTONE IRA PANDE
Yet, despite his great admiration for the western world and his cosmopolitan outlook, Ray retained a proud Indianness that made his oeuvre full of compassion and understanding of the travails of ordinary Indians. His depiction of the austerity and dignity of a peasant’s life was as real as his portrayal of the loneliness and decadence of an empty, rich zamindar household. This is perhaps why, whether we understood Bengali or not, we lined up to see a Ray film whenever it was released in Allahabad or Lucknow, the towns I grew up in. I must have been a mere 5 when I saw “Pather Panchali” for the first time in 1956 in Lucknow. My mother, who had been a student at Santiniketan along with Ray, took us along to see it with her. I was amazed to see how much of the film had stayed with me when I saw it almost 30 years later in Chandigarh at a film appreciation course. A Ray film stays with one for a lifetime, for it unfolds its magic slowly. Like Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”, its appeal reaches different levels of understanding as one matures. In an age that seems bereft of icons and ideals, a Ray film is a reminder that the true heroes and heroines of this world are those ordinary, almost insignificant, men and women whose struggle to exist is an unending battle against poverty and pain. If anyone truly understood the “aam admi”, perhaps it was this gentle giant. His despair at the cruelty of life was so beautifully balanced with his faith in the indomitable human spirit that he never left his viewers devoid of hope. How one wishes this same mood could now be created. However, there is so much anger and loathing about the current situation that people thrash around trying to find something worthwhile in their lives but usually give way to despair. Many young people I speak to nowadays are disillusioned with politics, governments, institutions and the media and one can see why. But they must realise that the country will be theirs to govern very shortly and who will they then blame and what will they themselves do? It seems to me that despite the heavy load of books that our young children carry to school every day, they are not taught anything about the political system, how governments work, or the relationship between voters and their elected representatives. What is most shocking of all is that most have never heard of a social contract. And as they only read blogs and Twitter, one worries that they have no idea of how to change things for the better. Today, ideas go ‘viral’ within seconds only to die out as soon as another fad arises, and since most young people suffer from ADD (Attention Deficiency Disorder), their concern lasts all of half a day (or night). Lasting concerns, permanent solutions, reflective debates or slow-fuse books and films are now part of another age, another generation. This is why it is important to recall the great debt that we owe to all our cultural icons: they created an alternate world, peopled by characters whose lives revealed for us innumerable possibilities of affirmative action. From Ray’s famous debut in “Pather Panchali” to his last film, “Agantuk”, his work flows like a river: never still but ever there. He was perhaps our Mount Fujiyama, where the cool snow on its surface only concealed the bubbling lava beneath. |
|
On the record by What inspired you to take up a project specially for dwarfs? I wanted society to realise that dwarfs are just the same as us, except the height — the same dreams and desire for a life of dignity. However, we never give them their due and respect. Many end up entertaining us as jokers in circus. I wanted to give them an opportunity to showcase their talent through my special play “Kinu Kou”, featuring them as artistes. What was the response? Do you think it made any difference to the status of dwarfs in society? “Kinu Kou” was an instant hit with theatre buffs in Assam and outside, as it had added a new dimension to theatre. The artistes worked with exceptional zeal to prove a point. Noted theatre personalities and directors such as Anuradha Kapoor were awed when they saw the play at the national festival in New Delhi in January 2012. The overwhelming response was very encouraging for the artistes. How did you find and select the artistes? I have a pet lifetime project, “Amar Gaon (our village)”, under which I want to set up a centre for dwarf people on the lines of SOS Villages. I want to give them a place where they can live a life of dignity, doing what they can and want best. The project was started in 2008. It took me four years to spot and pick willing dwarf individuals from various parts of Assam. We had to try very hard to persuade their guardians to allow them to come with us for a better future. The guardians were apprehensive, as society has generally been cruel to dwarfs. We held workshops in their houses to convince them to join the project. We managed to spot at least 70 dwarfs in the age group of 5-60 years, including nine girls and women. We trained about 30 for the play. We want to train them in other skills too so they may become self-reliant. There will also be a vocational training institute at Amar Gaon. How do you compare dwarf artistes’ performance to others? There is hardly any difference. Only a few technical problems arise because of their stature, which can be resolved. Their performance level is reflected in the success of “Kinu Kou”. Has all this changed their life? They have become discernibly more confident, realising better things are possible in life. It was a momentous occasion when a dwarf couple from our group — Nayan Daimari (36) and Torasona Mohilary (35) —married in February this year. About 800 people attended the wedding. That speaks volumes of their change in attitude. Has there been any help from the government in your efforts? The Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam initially helped us conduct a workshop to train these artistes for the play. Now I am trying for a repertoire grant from the authorities. Any new major project for the special artistes in the pipeline? This year they will be involved in two productions of my theatre group, Dapon. They will act along with other artistes so that their talent is tested in a regular situation. They should also feel they don’t need special treatment all the time because they are as normal as anyone. |
|
PROFILE Dr Reddy says: “CVDs are collectively the main cause of death across the world, and have been increasing at an alarming rate in low and middle-income countries.” His first task would be to protect people from acquiring heart disease and provide them timely, effective and affordable care. Health services, he says, should enable risk reduction and cost-effective management of disease at all levels. “The WHF will catalyse these policies at the global level and assist national efforts through capacity building and collaborative research”. Every year, 17.1 million people die of CVDs. Well recognised in preventive cardiology, Dr Reddy has also provided outstanding leadership in tobacco control, which is responsible for nearly 5 million deaths annually. CVD is the number one killer of women worldwide — a fact most people are not aware of. Dr Reddy also has the distinction of having kept two Prime Ministers in good health — the late P.V. Narasimha Rao, and the present incumbent, Dr Manmohan Singh. He has believed in keeping a low profile, but when Dr Singh fell ill, as head of the Prime Minister’s health panel Dr Reddy was thrust into limelight. He has been quoted as saying: “The PM’s physician should always be available, but never visible”. The Prime Minister’s Office, however, decided Dr Reddy would be the single point of contact for media briefings during the PM’s stay in hospital. The doctor came under criticism for having advised the Prime Minister surgery. Many thought it would have been better if Dr Singh had opted for angioplasty. After the decision was taken, Dr Reddy informed Dr Singh and his family about the various options. Dr Singh just took five minutes to say, “On the balance of possibilities, let’s go for surgery”. Dr Reddy later said: “The PM’s recovery was the fastest I have seen. He has tremendous willpower. He repeatedly said he had to get back to work as soon as possible.” It was a moment of pride, as Dr Reddy had delivered the nation’s Prime Minister safely back home, and in good health. Dr Reddy is the son of a senior Congress leader, the late K. Raghunath Reddy, who was a Union Minister and Governor of West Bengal. But instead of politics, Dr Reddy preferred medicine for a profession. The cardiologist has a literary bent too, having won the ECAAR Global Peace Essay contest (adjudged by 11 Nobel laureates in 1992), and the Times of India essay contest on human rights. He was also a prize-winning debater at the university level. |
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
The longest 38-km twin tunnels planned for a 775 MW project at Luhri will cut out 48 km of the river, and the longest reservoir, Kol Dam, will take away 37 km. Two major projects already completed — the 1,500-MW Nathpa Jhakri and 1,200-MW Karcham Wangtu — have reduced the river to a trickle in the area, except the four months of monsoon.
I
O
Ray belonged to an aristocratic Brahmo family of Kolkata, more comfortable in the traditions of western classical music and culture than his own. A true Renaissance man, Ray was a brilliant illustrator and graphic designer (his name graces a typographical style he devised), a writer of mystery tales and short stories for children, a music composer and film critic. Above all, he was passionately fond of films and every aspect of filmmaking. He personally wrote scripts, directed lighting and camera work and scored unforgettable melodies and music. He sketched detailed instructions before he filmed a scene, and so perfect was his capacity to visualise an image that he rarely deviated from that mental graph.
A
T