Bhopal Notes :: 78 :: Determining limits of the Upper Lake

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Reports emanating from Bhopal are not very encouraging in so far marking of Full Tank Level (FTL) of the Upper Lake is concerned. This item of work has been assigned to the Municipal Corporation which is besides being incompetent is also corrupt. It has now said that the work of marking of FTL will take another month as it is short of the required manpower.

The ploy, it seems to me to be of the Municipal Corporation, is to delay the marking so as to enable the water to retreat from its full tank level allowing the thus vacated areas of the lake to be encroached upon. The Municipal Corporation cannot be trusted wit such a vital asset of the town. After all, it is the Municipal Corporation that made the Boat Club a food zone with numerous establishments – permanent and temporary – selling edibles which should have been a strict no, no on the bank of a water body that is a source of drinking water for lakhs of people in the town. It is here the Corporation encroached on the lake to create, much against the wishes of a large number of people including the member of the Bhopal Citizens’ Forum, an amphitheatre seating a few hundred people for the non-existent laser show. The show never took off as with scanty rainfall last year the fountains planted in the Lake bed got exposed because of receding waters. Some Rs. 7 crore were reported to be spent on it which were lost. Nobody has so far been held accountable for such indiscretions of the Corporation.

The Corporation was also playing soft on the much maligned retaining wall that continues to stand despite ordered to be demolished by the former chief minister. The Corporation was also hell bent on providing Boat Club 2 for Khanugaon as mentioned in the report of the CEPT that was suppressed by the previous government. For the shrinkage of the Lake if any organization is responsible it is none other than the Municipal Corporation.

This year Gods have been kind and they have given bountiful rains to the town so much so that the gates of the dams have had to be opened a number of times. This opportunity should in no case be lost to determine the Lake’s FTL and whatever has been illegally constructed within its limits should be ruthlessly demolished. Care needs to be taken that nothing in this regard is left to the Municipal Corporation which has mostly corrupt officials with vested interests. If one looks at it objectively, it is able to do nothing effectively, whether it is controlling the population of stray dogs or cattle or building and mending of roads or even supply of water to the people. What is more none in the Corporation seems to have any shame There has been so much of criticism of its ways in the newspapers and yet hardly makes any attempt to improve.

One fears that the rains will not be as copious in the coming years as they have been this year. Hence, this opportunity to determine the extent of the Upper Lake should not be lost. IF necessary use of drone-photography needs to be resorted to in order to overcome the alleged manpower shortage to identify the limits of the Lake

Bhopal Notes :: 77 :: Brimful of a Lake

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The last report that I saw said that the local Upper Lake was just 0.30 ft. short of the full tank level (FTL). This morning’s papers brought in the happy news that the flood gates at Kerwa were opened to release the excess water from the Lake.

 It is now only around the middle of August and the Lake is full ensuring a full year’s water supply. Gods have been kind to Bhopal as one never expected such copious rains. Forecasts were of a weak monsoon and, indeed, one came to believe in the predictions as till the end of July there was hardly any rain. A few sharp showers in the last 10 or 12 days relieved us of the anxiety. Then the monsoon took off showering bountiful of rains on Bhopal in the first week of this month.

Things were terrible till the rains set in. Water level in the so-called lifeline of the city sank to levels that were never touched before. It was below the dead storage level and yet the municipality claimed it was maintaining supplies by using floating pumps. But we hardly got any water and the Narmada line for which our Society paid three thousand-odd rupees did not yield any water. We were sustaining ourselves by getting tankers-full of water. One wondered where the tankers got their water from; and whatever they got was dirty and mucky fouling up the filters in the Aquaguard machine. Yet, it was the precious fluid.

The Lake looked in terrible condition. Huge swathes of land appeared where there was water not many days ago. The Island in the Lake ceased to be one and people could walk up to it. Waters of the Lake retreated from the fringes exposing the ugly soggy earth that was earlier kept hidden under a few feet of water. There was panic and the forecasts exacerbated it. One thought one was at the threshold of apocalypse and that too in Bhopal – the City of Lakes. Even in this crisis situation the supply pipelines would leak and the municipal tankers carrying precious water would also leak profusely.

That is all in the past now. Now that the city has been able to shed the specter of a water famine everyone needs to get into the act of conservation of our water resources, more so the public agencies like the Municipal Corporation, the Water Resources Department and sundry others. The country is now water stressed and we in Bhopal too are similarly stressed. Efforts need to be intensified for conserving what we have. Leakages from all sources should be banished by strictly monitoring the supply lines and the tankers that are used for water supply. All encroachments on the Lake need to be bulldozed away and the FTL levels need to be prominently marked and those who breach them should be prosecuted. Hopefully, the retaining wall that was ordered to be demolished by the former chief minister has since been demolished.

While surface water has to be conserved at any cost even the ground water needs to be conserved. There are strict regulations for sinking bore and tube wells which have been observed more in breach. Those found breaching the regulations have to face legal consequences. Unless this is done ground water that is an alternate source of water would not be available in times of needs. In fact availability of ground water should be enhanced by rainwater harvesting. The Municipal Corporation had reportedly made some legal provision for rainwater harvesting but enforcement has been patchy. Rigorous inspections need to be carried out to ensure that the rainwater harvesting arrangements are made wherever called for.

Water will be very much in the news in the future as rains are uncertain with clouds frequently playing truant. The Centre has, therefore, created a whole ministry for water naming it “Jal Shakti”. The civic bodies, too, have to look sharp to ensure that maximum amount is conserved and not a drop is lost. Officials need to be held accountable for any undue loss of water. It must be realized that the population has increased but the natural resources are shrinking with their unavoidable consequences.

Bhopal Notes :: 54 :: CM’s utter disdain for a dying lake

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Dead fish floating in Upper Lake, Bhopal

The so called Bhopal “Sthapna Diwas” was celebrated with fanfare in the evening of last Thursday at the Boat Club which sits close to the bank of the Upper Lake. At the very outset it needs to be re-stated that this lake is a wetland of international repute and has been declared a Ramsar Site and is an Important Bird Area. The custodian of the Lake, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation, draws water from it for supplies to a little less than half the population of the city.

Having set the record straight one has to say it emphatically that the ceremony – unwarranted and uncalled for – was in complete disregard of the dire condition of the Lake where, of late, fish have been dying for want of adequate oxygen. It is highly polluted and the assembly of thousands of people on its banks, as has become a matter of regular occurrence, is against all environmental norms for protection of a prime wetland. On top of all this was the display of fireworks – again uncalled for and unwarranted – was highly ill-advised. While all the carbon of the fireworks was blown towards the lake and eventually settling down on its waters the fire on the hill opposite the Boat Club caused avoidable destruction of the surrounding flora and fauna.

(I have written elsewhere about the Sukhna Lake of Chandigarh where nothing is allowed on its banks – no food stalls or kiosks or any other establishment. Recently a massive housing project in its catchments was disallowed by the Punjab & Haryana High Court. So much care is being taken, unlike the lake of Bhopal, of the Sukhna Lake, a lake that was created only around sixty years ago, when its waters are not used for drinking and the Lake is not a wetland of international importance.)

It has been noticed for some time that the government has been wearing its total apathy for this thousand-year old lake on its sleeve and its progressive degradation. It has not released for the last three years the report of the Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology on conservation of the Lake and its catchments where constructions are reportedly progressing without let or hindrance. While the Municipal Corporation is busy in making cosmetic changes in its surroundings it does nothing to prevent sewers to empty into it. Even the government does not do anything about building sewage treatment plants (STPs) for these drains whereas it has assured STPs for all the drains that empty into River Narmada.

 The latest big bash on the Lake, therefore, shows utter disdain of the government and its chief executive for the most valuable asset of the people of Bhopal. One does not know who cleared the programme but, I am sure, the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation would neither have the power nor the money to mount such an elaborate celebration. There must have been political directions and a diktat from the government which, apparently, couldn’t care less if the water body was further damaged.

 This was the first celebration of the so called “Sthapna Diwas” which, according to reports, commemorates the merger of Bhopal 68 years ago in the Indian Union. All through the past 67 years the government did not remember the date of merger and, never felt the need to celebrate it. Suddenly, out of the blue, this year it decided to hold a celebration. Obviously it is a ploy to delude the people. One programme associated with the Narmada Seva Yatra had to be cancelled on account of the sudden demise of the Central Environment Minister who was to attend it. The government was, therefore, apparently looking for an excuse to hold a big bash and they fished out this long forgotten date.

Looks like, the chief minister has been under pressure for some time and he has been trying to divert attention from the allegations against him of involvement of the members of his immediate family in illegal sand mining. The Opposition, the Indian National Congress, has gone hammer and tongs after him and, for once, has been right in effectively mounting on the chief minister a direct attack. And so has a former minister of the chief minister’s cabinet who has filed a case against sand mining in Narmada with the Bhopal Bench of the National Green Tribunal.  

There are numerous issues involved with these celebrations. The first question that occurs in one’s mind is why, out of the blue, these celebrations were held when during the last 68 years nobody ever thought of celebrating it. There has to be motive behind it. One newspaper has gone on to describe it as the day when people of Bhopal won “freedom”. But it has not been explained as to why the attainment of “freedom” was not celebrated all these years This is nothing but spreading untruth and obfuscating the fact of merger of Bhopal state. While it is true that the then Nawab had procrastinated on deciding merger of his principality into the Indian Union but eventually he was left with no other alternative.

To say that the people of Bhopal won their freedom on 1^st June 1949 is nothing but an attempt to muddle the issue. Before that date the people of Bhopal had as much or as little freedom as those in other princely states that merged with the Union. Besides, if the date of merger of Bhopal needs to be celebrated, the government should also celebrate the anniversaries of merger of Gwalior, Indore and numerous other former princely states that merged into the Indian Union. After all Madhya Pradesh was constituted of only former princely states barring the areas of former British India like Mahakaushal

In point of fact, from all evidences the “Sthapna Diwas” as an ill-thought out celebration which wasted a few crores from government exchequer and, in the process, dumped tons of pollutants, including, carbon into the Lake.

I am posting this on the eve of the World Environment Day in the hope that better sense will prevail among the politicians and bureaucrats to take care and protect this gift of legendary Raja Bhoj who was so concerned about water needs of his subjects more than a thousand years ago.

Bhopal Notes :: 53 :: VIPs at play on Bhopal Lake

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A jamboree in progress at Boar Club during "Rahgiri"days

A news item the other day reported the highhandedness of the so-called VIPs. The widely circulated Dainik Bhaskar had reported earlier that there was an encroachment in the Boat Club area by a party which had been allotted 600 sq.ft. for running a food joint called Food Point. The newspaper reported that instead of using 600 sq.ft. the proponent had created a facility of 4000 sq.ft.

 The Mayor took prompt action. After his office verified all the related records and found that there were breaches of conditions of the lease and signs of massive encroachments by the allottee he visited the site with his anti-encroachment squad and a posse of policemen just in case the situation turned ugly. Facing no problem he  cancelled the allotment. The operation to remove the encroachment, however, was halted as the Mayor was spoken to by somebody very high in the government.

Later it transpired that the allottee happened to be the son of a major builder in the city who was also close to a former minister in the government. The allottee’s father seems to have influenced the officers of the Municipal Corporation at lower levels to allow the massive illegal construction. They did so behind the back of the Mayor who was not put wise about the underhand developments. The phone call that stayed the hands of the mayor must have come from one of the powerful persons involved.

 This is how the “important” or “very important” people subvert the rule of law. First they manipulate the bureaucracy and if necessary they also get the political executive to step in and help them out. The political executives are mostly beholden to them for the favours they might have received or are likely to receive from them. The VIPs – for such a person is a VIP in the current Indian context for whom rules can be thrown away to the winds – are, in fact, law-breakers who subvert normal functioning of the official agencies, bending them to work to their own (VIP’s) advantage. They are, as the saying goes, more equal than others.

 Shiv Vishwanathan, a reputed social scientist, in one of his very interesting pieces has said that the 20^th Century writer George Orwell understood the Indian brand of socialism very well. His book Animal Farm was taken to be a critique of Indian socialism where the pigs challenging equality asserted “some were more equal than others”. Vishwanathan says, as animal symbolism goes, “the Pig is the archetypal VIP” but some have added, even “the Pig looks restrained next to our product”. (Incidentally, Pigs Snowball and Napoleon are characters in Orwell’s Animal Farm)

Vishwanathan goes lyrical when he describes the Indian VIP. He says the VIP was the Indian Republic’s glorious contribution to the idea of “conspicuous citizenship”. The VIP did not live in the “world of entitlement or rights”. He claimed excess as his birth right. Besides, he has the constitutional right “to disturb, to interrupt and to deprive.” The VIP threatens everyone’s rights but becomes “violent” when his entitlements are threatened – and his rights include (those) “of his lackeys and his family”. No VIP is ever alone – he represents a ”retinue” of people, perpetually surrounded by relatives and friends. According to him, VIP, unlike a citizen, is not singular. Vishwanathan likens him to an epidemic who feels governance was invented for him.

Calling him an “Ugly Indian”, Vishwanathan says that the VIP is a greater threat to democracy than poverty. The affluence of the VIP feeding off a community is obscene. But that is precisely what is happening all around – from encroachments on public lands to illegal sand mining on rivers that are denuded of their sands or even in competitive examinations for admissions in professional colleges where the monstrous Vyapam scandal revealed the activities of this species.

In this particular case, whoever this “Ugly Indian” is he has done a great disservice to the citizens of Bhopal. The city’s pride, the eco-sensitive millennium-old largest man-made lake of the country, is already on its last legs. Having been subjected to myriad atrocities by the likes of this “Ugly Indian” the lake is on the verge of death. Already, the oxygen content of its waters has ebbed so low that dead fishes have appeared close to the Boat Club. Apparently, its waters may not remain fit for drinking for long even after sophisticated filtration. Its waters have never been taken care of as the custodian of the lake, Bhopal Municipal Corporation, is more interested in beautifying its surroundings than purifying its waters. This is happening when a large number of government departments and agencies are involved in its maintenance.

 The saying “too many cooks spoil the broth” is in operation here on the Upper Lake if one cares to look at it. But there is one which is out to exploit the Lake’s existence for its own benefit and that is the State Tourism Development Corporation. It has secured its bottom-line by exploiting the Lake and its environs by running highly damaging motorized boats on its progressively deteriorating quality of water, running restaurants, food joints, etc at and near the Boat Club and organizing jamborees on its banks in not too distant past.

On a number of occasions attention was drawn through these columns on the ill-advised activities that were being carried out on the banks of this very vital lake for the townsfolk but there was no one to listen to them. All were probably pulverised by numerous “Ugly Indians”. Now it seems that what the chief of Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology said about a month back that the Lake would cease to be of use in another 20 years’ time was perhaps an over-statement; it is already gasping for breath and the end is not far away.

Once it is dead the “Ugly Indian” and his ilk would perhaps have no sorrow but would jump in joy with saliva dripping from their mouths on the prospects of getting the biggest piece of prime real estate available for them to use it any which way. Their insatiable lust for land, however, will only be partially sated even as the city’s denizens go water-less – deprived of their inalienable right to life.

*Photo from internet

20^th May 2017

Bhopal Notes :: 47 :: Insane Municipal Corporation

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I have had to come back again to the subject of our Upper Lake that seems like is being killed by the government and its custodian the municipal corporation. A report that appeared in an English language local newspaper talked of how the municipality’s Upper Lake-centric recreational projects are going to prove to be harmful for it.

Subhash Pande, a green activist has expressed concern about various initiatives of the Municipal Corporation in and around the lake that in no way are going to improve the quality of its waters or enhance its life. The Corporation is mostly trying to provide more means of entertainment and relaxation to attract greater numbers of visitors to the Lake side. In fact, if one looks at the plans it would seem that left to the Corporation the Lake would have a ring of places providing entertainment around it. From boating, to food parks, musical fountains and several view-points, all are being planned or are under execution. As it is the Lake has to bear the burden of thousands of visitors every day who assemble at the Boat Club to the detriment of its waters.

While the green activist has dealt with the denial of the authorities to make public the report of the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology of Ahmedabad containing proposals for “wise use” of the wetland, creating again an access for a view point from the VIP road for a view point that was once given up for environmental reasons and the retaining wall that was being raised and was not demolished despite the orders of the chief minister there are other concerns that have somehow been missed.

A mention needs to be made of a news report regarding a multi-crore project of installation of musical fountains and organizing a laser show not far from the Boat Club.  An e-tender was issued for the purpose almost a year back after the laser show at Neelam Park on the Lower Lake had to be discontinued for want of audiences. It was reported that the laser show was making a loss of around six lakhs per annum - not a very big amount, but an enormous waste of financial, material and human resources for creation of the necessary infrastructure for the ill-conceived laser show had already been incurred. An auditorium was built for the purpose which is now lying unused. When the show was not attracting crowds the Corporation officials had remarked that the site for the show was not properly chosen. Had it been located somewhere on the Upper Lake it would have drawn crowds of spectators. They just didn’t realize that a heavy daily dose of shows of whether of laser or dancing fountains wouldn’t attract crowds for long on a daily basis.

That very idea is probably being taken forward and hence the e-tender. A news item today mentioned a new auditorium for 600 people is likely to be built somewhere near the Boat Club for projection of history of Bhopal on a wall of water created on the Lake with the help of a hundred-odd nozzles.

The Corporation seems to have a never-say-die attitude and all the time works on peripheral issues instead of the fundamental ones. In its efforts to please the people by making provision of such means of entertainment instead of trying to do the basic work of providing to them clean, unpolluted drinking water from the Lake. Crores of rupees have been sunk in this kind of effort but it is not concerned about sewage draining into the lake from as many as nine drains without the intervention of treatment plants.

Apparently, there is nobody to check all the ill-conceived projects and profligacy of the Municipal Corporation. Environmental authorities including the Pollution Control Board are mute witnesses to the excesses of the Corporation on the Upper Lake particularly when the Lake is not in a healthy state. And, what the Corporation is doing is to further damage an unhealthy Lake. Experts who used to come to attend workshops in EPCO around ten years ago used to say that collection of large numbers of people on the banks of the Lake was injurious to it. But the Corporation, in collaboration with the local tourism outfit, tried to do just that and that too successfully. Today the situation is so alarming that reports say that parking of vehicles is causing problems at the Boat Club. People in such large numbers come to the Boat Club which is precisely the place where such large numbers of cars are not supposed to be.

In fact, in a similar situation in a western country the authorities there would not have allowed construction of a road like the VIP road that we have or a highway along the lake. According to their environmentalists, even automobile traffic at close proximity to a body of water is harmful for its waters. Here, of course, the VIP Road was a dire need with fast-developing congestion on the conventional road from the airport and once it was built it became a fait accompli – nothing could be done about it regardless of the heavy traffic that plies on it.

Pande has rightly said that the need to address the internal condition of the Lake is urgent. Its waters continue to be polluted by sewage flowing into it despite the orders of the local bench of the National Green Tribunal. Besides the catchments of the Lake have to be taken care of to ensure that farms therein engage in organic farming and constructions there also are kept to the minimum. Likewise, the beds of its feeder streams have to be kept clear of encroachments. All these essential activities are neglected and, strangely, projects are consistently drafted for works that are harmful for the Lake.

The Municipal Corporation seems to have gone insane; there does not seem to be no other word for it.

Bhopal Notes :: 43 :: THE FOULED UP LAKE

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Its waters are dangerous to touch and risky to drink

Now it is official; the waters of the Upper Lake are not fit for bathing or even sipping – a ritual that is called “achaman” observed by Hindus after their prayers. The Locally based Pollution Control Board issued a warning for the people who were to perform their rituals on the banks of the Lake on the occasion of Chhath Puja that was to take place last Sunday. The Chhath festival is dedicated to the Sun and his consort Usha to thank them for the bounties bestowed on people. Celebrated generally by people of Bihar, it has now almost become a national festival as the Bihari Diaspora is present virtually in all states.

The Pollution Control Board said while exposure of the skin to the waters could cause skin diseases, especially eczema, ingesting it would be more dangerous as the e-coli count is almost double the level far higher than what can be tolerated by normal humans. This had to happen as the powers that be, including those in the Department of Environment and the Bhopal Municipal Corporation, have never bothered to divert sewage and other pollutants that make their way to the Lake through as many as nine drains. They have had project after project but the situation has not changed. Perhaps the conditions have worsened. No wonder the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) has predicted if action is not taken on its plans for the Lake submitted as far as back as in 2013 the Lake most likely would disappear in 20 years.

On the one hand the Tourism Development Corporation has, seemingly, acquired proprietary rights over it and pushing projects one after another without any regard to their impact on the Lake. While the Boat Club has become the hub for people to come and collect in large numbers, boating has gone up exponentially. One shudders to see so many motorised boats plying on the Lake that is a source of drinking water. In no civilized country a drinking water source is used in such a casual manner as in Bhopal. The Tourism Corporation may have improved its own bottom line by putting motor boats in the waters of the Lake in contravention of the prevailing ban but it has brought the Lake into red. There are other lakes like those at Shahpura or the Lower Lake where the motor-boating could be diverted but no, every activity has to be undertaken at the Upper Lake This is not counting the Sair Sapata, the huge amusement park that has come in Prempura, again, on the banks of the Lake The outfit was bad in concept and has been bad in its effect on the Lake. As is understood, the CEPT has recommended in its report a shift for the tourism unit from its present location.

While the MP State Tourism Department has played havoc with the Upper Lake the Bhopal Municipal Corporation, supposedly its custodian, has played no mean role in its progressive degradation. It has been attempting everything to improve its appearance by way of cosmetic changes but it has never formulated a project to block the nine drains that bring millions of litres of sewage into the Lake. The responsibility of maintaining a reasonable water quality is that of the Corporation and the obligation of supplying water to the consumers is also of the local body. That, in effect, results in the local body supplying poison to the citizens of the town who get the Lake waters from the Corporation pipe lines. Nobody seems to be bothered – neither the Municipal Corporation nor the state government – the losers in the process are the people. What is not even funny is that every instrument of the state is in place with all the necessary kinds of resources and yet it is the people who get the rawest of deals.

In addition, the farmers in its catchments that fall in the neighbouring district are not bothered about the effects of their chemical farming on the Lake. They merrily use chemical fertilisers and pesticides remanants of which flow into the Lake polluting it further. While the government has created an organic farming zone, it never considered the catchments of this Lake for converting into an organic farming zone. This was taken up years ago with the government by the Bhopal Citizens' Forum but to no avail. 

One wonders whether the authorities in the government or in the Corporation will take the findings of the local Pollution Control Board seriously enough and initiate remedial measure in double quick time. None can, however, be sure as we have observed utmost indifference to the water body despite claiming it as the identity of the city. The latest in this chain is the governments’ unshakable perch on the CEPT report that promised improved days (and water) for the Lake

 

Bhopal Notes :: 39 :: Winds of change

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Upper Lake, Bhopal

Looks like winds of change are blowing across Bhopal, especially its iconic Lake and its sensitive surroundings that go by the technical term of “Catchments”. A news report yesterday gave the good news of the thinking in the MP government about changing over from chemical farming to organic farming on the  farms in the catchments of the Upper Lake. The government is not talking of persuading farmers for the switch but is talking of introduction, presumably, regardless of the consequences. This is what, apparently, came out of a meeting that was held by various governmental representatives with the local Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

 In fact, this should have been done long back. One wonders what the Bhopal Municipal Corporation, Department of Environment and the Department of Water Resources have been doing so far. They should have moved in the matter long back as it is well within their knowledge that fertilizers and pesticides were being used by the farmers in the catchments of the Lake. However, as happens in the governments all over the country, these matters vital for the prim maintenance of the country’s assets as also wellbeing of its people are lost sight of  - with, one might add, impunity.

The question of introducing organic farming was discussed in the Bhopal Citizens’ Forum years ago, may be seven to eight years ago. A letter was also addressed to the MP government as a sequel to that. But there was no action whatsoever although pollution of the waters of the Lake frequently came up in public discourses. None in the government seems to pay any attention to what people or groups or non-governmental institutions have to say in regard to various matters relating to public wellbeing. There is an air in the government of total proprietary rights to all knowledge and a kind of disdain for what they receive from sources that are unofficial. Hence such information or suggestion could well be ignored.

 I recall having read in the newspapers a few months ago that the government has decided to create an organic farming zone the location for which was the district of Dindori. That was well and good but I wonder whether the zone has taken off. However, in the process, it clean forgot of the catchments of the Upper Lake where organic farming is an utter need for providing purer drinking water to people to whom its water is supplied. Virtually everybody knows that the lake is highly polluted with the inflow of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, sewage and what have you. If the government could cut out one of these it would serve a great purpose. But, that is how it is with the government; each department seemingly works in a silo knowing little of whatever is happening outside it.

Introduction of organic farming in the catchments of the Upper Lake should not prove to be a big deal. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been practicing it for about a decade now. They have also successfully tried neem-based pesticides and fertilizers which has led to job creation in rural areas. Enough evidence of the state’s success could be had from various sources. Hopefully the local government will go full steam ahead in implementing the proposal without incurring avoidable delay in finalising it.

*photo: from internet

Bhopal-Notes :: 37 ::Grabbing prime Bhopal lake-front land

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Municipal functionaries removing encroachments 

Living in Bhopal, it would seem, people are obsessed with the city’s biggest water body, the iconic Upper Lake. It is more so in my case as every hour of the day I find it spread right out in front of me. It is such a fascinating sight. I have been seeing it for the last twenty years in its various moods – lit up in sunlight and azure under a cloudless sky, somber in the moonlight, dark and grey during the monsoon with black forbidding clouds hovering over it, soft-focussed and diffused when it rains. My first published journalistic effort was on it; I can never tire of writing about it. No wonder, I follow everything that is written about it in the dailies.

The current reports reveal the callousness of people who are supposedly charged with the responsibility of taking care of it and other random thugs of the town who have been out to exploit its surroundings for personal gain by nibbling away on its fringes or grabbing its bed when the water recedes during the dry season. Thankfully the 9^th July floods occurred when, providentially, the case of encroachments on the Lake was also being heard in the National Green Tribunal. The heavy rains filled up the Lake to its highest level, i.e. 1666.80 ft. and many of the places grabbed that were being passed off as outside its boundaries were flooded. As there was a controversy about its spread a decision was taken to check the “full tank level” (FTL) of the Lake and teams were sent out to verify the cement markers that were reportedly planted by the municipal corporation to indicate the extent of its spread. Four teams were constituted by the district administration for the survey.

Reports started trickling in every day about the results of the survey only to reveal the mass-scale grabbing of the Lake’s area in almost all directions. The surveyors could not locate many markers, numerous others were found submerged in the waters of the Lake and several others had been overtaken by the spreading water. All these years people have been merrily encroaching in the areas that basically belonged to the Lake and this was surely made possible by the support and connivance of the municipal officials. The municipal councillors concerned also would have got their cut. Thus, those who were charged to ensure the integrity of the Lake actively subscribe to these illegalities resulting in shrinkage of the Lake, pollution of its waters and, of course, damage to its eco-system.

From shanties to fairly big houses, liquor shops to shops to eating joints, warehouses to shops selling marble slabs occupying large areas, all kinds of establishments were found merrily functioning and well entrenched in their illegal occupations. Some of the authors of these illegalities along the artery heading north even assaulted the municipal officials in their agitation when they appeared with their equipment to bring down the unauthorized and patently illegal structures. Policemen, who were present, handled them with patience and a lot of understanding.

Demolition of houses in Khanugaon (Cf: Bhopal Notes :: 32 :: Uncivil people of Khanugaon) were to be taken up but were postponed on the orders of the Mayor. Here, it seems, not one marker was found by the surveyors. These must have been destroyed by those who illegally occupied the land that rightfully should have been within the FTL. The reason for not proceeding with demolition of the illegal constructions is not quite clear; the most charitable explanation could be the human problem of people becoming homeless if their structures were demolished. It was in Kanugaon that its residents had earlier misbehaved with the members of the Bhopal Citizens’ Forum who had gone there to check the location of the retaining wall that was being constructed by the municipal corporation. The Citizens’ Forum and later even the chief minister found the wall well within the Lake. The project was supposedly prepared to provide a 2 kilometre-long pathway and a cycle track for the people with a boat club thrown in near about. Quite clearly, as it now seems, the whole project was formulated to protect the illegal houses from ingress in them of waters of the Lake. A minister too reportedly supported the project. The idea was, clearly, to push back the boundaries of the Lake. And that is why, perhaps, the residents were so wild at the visit of the members of the Citizens’ Forum. Even the area’s councillor was probably involved in it as he too had, reportedly, threatened the members of the Citizens’ Forum and told them to refrain from visiting the area again.

The findings of the surveyors are yet to be placed before the Green Tribunal. It seems there were all-told 943 cement markers all around the Lake and only a few more than 820 or so have been accounted for. Obviously the missing ones have been done away with by those who waded into the Lake’s territory to satisfy their greed. The Bhopal Municipal Corporation has shown nothing but all round incompetence in discharging almost all its functions; it has done more so in respect of the Lake despite being charged with the responsibility of being its custodian. Disappearance of the markers and whole-sale encroachments which were allowed to continue for years are testimonies of its utter ineffectiveness. Reports have been circulating about hefty amounts that were being paid to the municipal and government officials in lieu of their favours.

Apart from sundry encroachments, it allowed establishment of the Chirayu Hospital & Medical College in what now seems to be the area within the FTL. It must have been flooded this year as the rains have been more than normal as it was flooded even last year when the rains were sparse. A case filed against it but seems to have had wrongly alleged that it violated the catchment area; in fact, as it now seems, it is well within the FTL of the lake Nonetheless, the case resulted in  conviction and the Hospital got away very lightly as it was directed to plant a few hundred trees as punishment.

With the exposure of the lackadaisical and careless attitude of the municipal official one can only wait and see what action is taken against those who are responsible for the encroachments and their continuance over the years. The Upper Lake, apart from being a vital source of water for the denizens of Bhopal, is also an important environmental asset for them. It has a far greater role in tempering the city’s micro-climate than what is appreciated. To tinker with its expanse and to allow the pollution of its waters would seem to be a serious crime against the citizens of the city.

One only wishes the National Green Tribunal makes a comprehensive assessment of the measures taken (or not taken) by various authorities concerned, including Bhopal Municipal Corporation, to apportion blame on them for their failure in maintaining the integrity of the Lake and for imposition of suitable penalties. One also wishes t the Tribunal takes into account various tourism activities that are being conducted in and around the Lake by the MP State Tourism Corporation against the environmental norms and issues suitable directions.

*Photoo from internet

Bhopal Notes :: 36 ::Ecologically Threatening Upper Lake Wall To Go

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Readers must have come across on several occasions references in these columns to a retaining wall that the Bhopal Municipal Corporation was constructing well within the iconic Upper Lake of Bhopal in an area that goes by the name of Khanugaon. The stated purpose was to create a pedestrian pathway and a cycle track of around two kilometres for the benefit of the locals. What was clearly unstated was the plan to build a new boat club at Khanugaon. Newspapers criticized it, environmentalists as well as local NGOs and Bhopal Citizens’ Forum were up against it. The Bhopal Municipal Corporation was, however, unrelenting and went ahead with the construction 

The matter eventually went to the local bench of the National Green Tribunal where it is still pending. Its latest directions, given around a fortnight earlier regarding survey of the “Full Tank Level’ (FTL) of the Lake and marking of its boundaries after the survey, remains unimplemented so far. Initially the Municipal Corporation dilly dallied in complying with the Tribunal’s orders for various reasons. Eventually, it directed the District Administration to form teams for the survey. This process itself took time as the municipality was again evading the calls to attend the meetings. After a great deal of procrastination four teams were formed to go about identifying the spread of the Lake and mark its boundaries as currently the Lake has attained its FTL of 1666.80 ft. The survey is now expected to commence from 3^rd August 2016.

In the meantime, however, the Chief Minister took time off to see for himself what the problem was. Actually, such matters generally do not generate enough interest among the politicians, especially the political head of the state. Perhaps, there was a deeper political game behind it as the pedestrian pathway, a cycling track and a new boat club at Khanugaon was the brainchild of the erstwhile Minister for Urban Administration who has since been stripped off of his ministerial position. The serial adverse reporting in the local press about the controversy that brought the Municipal Corporation into very bad light also must have played a role. The Corporation was not only unwilling to comply with the orders of the Tribunal, it had disdain for the contentions of the NGOs and the Bhopal Citizens’ Forum who asked it to demolish the “ecologically dangerous” retaining wall, reportedly 10 ft. tall at some places obstructing the free flow of water and was claimed to be on the FTL but was surreptitiously constructed well within the boundaries of the Lake. The Commissioner stopped the ongoing work but did not order the demolition. In this connection readers will recall the mention that was made of uncivil behavior of Khanugaon residents with the members of the Citizens’ Forum (Cf. Bhopal Notes 32 dated 23^rd June 2016). Obviously, the residents of Khanugaon had much to gain from the wall and the boat club. Hence thei anger against the members of Citizens’ Forum.

Ultimately it took a visit to the site by the Chief Minister to push the matter towards finality. One look at it and he directed demolition of the wall. The Mayor, all the district officers, , the Municipal Commissioner and other sundry officers were present. He gave directions to not only to demolish the contentious wall, he also directed the officers concerned to act according to the directives of the NGT. He also happened to see the submerged markers and ordered that these had to be removed and planted at the places where the Lake had spread itself to to mark its boundaries. What is more, he also directed thatforests should be developed along the Lake shores and that strict action against violators of the sanctity of the catchment area.

This is perhaps the first time that the Chief Minister has intervened in a matter regarding conservation of the environment of the city. The intervention will be fruitful if the whole thing is thoroughly probed to identify the officer who was responsible for this misadventure. The earlier commissioners of the Corporation have reportedly denied any responsibility. The one who approved the project is reported to have said that he was told the wall would be at FTL. Obviously, he had not checked the detailed project proposal. Quite clearly the project was being implemented in deviation of the proposal approved by the Centre. The charges of the vernacular press that the very custodian of the Lake was out to strangulate it are largely true. Worse, in the process public money and public resources were wasted on a project that could never stand against a proper environmental scrutiny. Exemplary punishments for the guilty officials for erecting the wall well within the FTL of the Lake need to be taken. Simultaneously those who have encroached into its catchment area have to be ousted.

Hopefully, the state government will not allow the matter to rest with the issue of oral directives of the Chief Minister. It needs to ensure that such unwise constructions never again take place in and around the Lake, its surroundings are covered by plantations to the extent possible and the catchments are cleared of encroachments in compliance of the directives of the Chief Minister. It also needs to release the report of the Centre for Environmental Planning & Technology on conservation and development of the Lake for the information of the general public.

Is Upper Lake awaiting Lake Ulsoor's fate

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Known as “the Silicon Valley of India” or the IT capital of the ountry, Bangalore, now Bengaluru, has had a fairy tale rise in the urbanscape of India. Demographically it has bulged or bloated over the last few decades and simultaneously it has had unremitting hunger for hosting a huge number of techies so much so that it has the largest number of them per square metre.  Despite having become an international destination and virtually a global city its civic apathy is to be seen to be believed.

Once upon a time Bangalore used to be clubbed with Dehra Doon and Poona (now Pune) as idyllic retirement destinations after a lifetime of supposedly back-breaking jobs under the colonial government. Soon after independence Bangalore, then of salubrious climes and dotted with picturesque water bodies, became the chosen one for development of industries. Hindustan Machine Tools, popularly known as HMT, was perhaps the first to be located there. With that, however, was sounded the death knell of Bangalore’s salubruity and other attendant distinctions. Over the following decades numerous industries were located within its precincts with consequential upward swing in its demographics. That took a heavy toll of its green ambiance and water bodies that were, encroached upon, built over, filled up or, at best, neglected by the people and the municipality. At the last count there were only 17 of them as against 51 that used to exist decades ago and beautify the city.

Ulsoor is one of them that has survived the human onslaught. If one

looked at its pictures one would get the feel of serenity, tranquility and, of course, beauty. Lately, however, it has become another victim, like numerous others, of the city’s civic apathy. Thousands of lifeless fish, big and small, landed up on its shores the other day for the simple reason that leaks in sewers had been emptying sewage into it depriving the fish of life-giving oxygen.

That sewers emptying into the water bodies is not something with which we in Bhopal are not unfamiliar. Our own Upper Lake is still receiving sewage from a number of drains despite several projects to stop this inflow. Multi-crore almost ten-year long international project that ran from 1994- 2004 funded by Japan like the Bhoj Wetland Project could not stop it. While we the citizens are being supplied water from the Lake generously mixed with sewage we also are being taxed for the interests to be paid for the soft loan that the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation provided. Such double whammies are the ironies that are inflicted on the citizens without batting an eyelid by those who are in authority. The municipality shamelessly spends tax-payers’ money for beautification of the Lake in a bid to, ill-advisedly and unwisely, invite more and more visitors forgetting that it would help the citizens enormously if it plugged the flow of sewage into it.

Probably that day is not far off when fishes are washed up on the Upper Lake shores or are seen floating on its blue surface lifelessly. Perhaps, only then the municipality would wake up as that would hit its ill-gotten revenues from so-called tourism with visitors shunning the Lake. We have already had an experience of such an incident when large numbers of dead fish were noticed floating in front of the Benazir Palace in one of the heritage ponds known as Motia Talaab.

One therefore wonders whether one should vicariously feel happy at the Silicon Valley of India getting a taste of Bhopal!

*Photos from internet