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The other day I came across a video clip in
whatsapp containing something very alarming. If it is all true, it should set
alarm bells ringing all over Bhopal.
Two days ago there was a small
news item in a vernacular newspaper that the water in the Upper Lake of Bhopal,
considered the lifeline of the town, is leaking into the Lower Lake through
some duct created naturally or artificially.
While the water of the Lower Lake is not lifted for distribution in the
town for drinking purposes, the waters of the Upper Lake is used for this
purpose. And it is the level of the Upper Lake, which is already precarious and
is shrinking. The Lake was reported to have waters for supply for the next
three weeks after which, if the rains still elude Bhopal, one does not know
what would happen. Perhaps, there will be just no water available and people
may have to get away elsewhere as they have done in Panna district deserting
some villages. Allowing the leak into the Lower Lake is nothing short of a
criminal act.
What was alarming about the video
was the statement of a spokesperson of a voluntary organization which said that
all this was being done deliberately by some politicians of both Indian
National Congress and Bharatiya Janta Party in active collaboration of the
officials concerned of the Municipal Corporation. The idea is to arrange a set-up
in which the Upper Lake loses all its waters and then the land mafias, with the
help of “raj-netas”, use the exposed lake bed for real estate purposes. The
intention seems to be to get rid of the water body and use the prime land in
the heart of the town to mint money. It is not beyond politicians to think of
such a scenario as they think big and think of making not one or two crores but
multi crores regardless of the consequences of their actions on the hapless
common men.
Already there are reports of
encroachments inside the Lake in Khanugaon area. A wall that was raised much
inside the FTL line is yet to be demolished despite the orders of former chief
minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. But it seems, the CM was not averse to the
encroachment as he never reportedly issued written orders. The wall therefore
stands violating wetland norms and, looks like, the encroachers are biding
their time and living for another convenient day when they could strike again.
In fact the government of Shivraj
Singh Chauhan too was eying the catchment of the Upper Lake with saliva
dripping from its mouth. So much of land lying unused; putting them to use
would unlock crores for the party and for politicians themselves. Yet they were
not able to do that. The CEPT report too suggested ‘hands off the catchments’.
The government did the next best thing; it sat on the report of the CEPT and
refused to make it public. It remains to be seen whether the Congress
government will release it. A report had said that it would be made public soon
but weeks have gone by and nothing has happened.
Unscrupulous municipal officials
and politicians cannot be trusted with the wellbeing of the general public.
Their own wellbeing takes precedence over those of others. Hence a strong civil
society action needs to be organized like the one that forced the Shivraj Singh
government to move the site of smart city from green and verdant Shivaji Nagar
to elsewhere. If people of Bhopal allow the Upper Lake to be dried up by the
machinations of unscrupulous officials and politicians they would do so at
their own peril.
The need of the hour is for all civil society
organizations to come together to thwart the evil designs and schemes of
crooked officials and politicians.
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