The misery of many is 'opportunity' for few
At times our ancient country could learn a lesson or two from the 'New World'. While writing this article I read the news that in the United States the Republican Party decided, at the specific request of their presidential nominee John McCain, to curtail all festivities in connection with the party convention to mark sympathy for the people affected by the cyclone Gustav that was to impact distant Louisiana. For Mr McCain it would have been a difficult decision as these conventions are big ticket events reflecting the strength of the political party and the popularity of its presidential nominee.

One is yet to read a single news item in our country that reveals similar sympathy with the millions of flood-affected people of Bihar. Of course, some newspapers have set up relief funds and some others have donated money. But nowhere has merrymaking been curtailed at a time when two million people are living in relief camps.

True, this year's floods may be more widespread and devastating, but this is equally true that successive Governments have done little to tackle the problem. This time, instead, they have preferred to do firefighting after the devastation began.

Take, for example, an active participant in Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. The railways have opened relief camps, it is transporting people from the flood-affected areas free of cost. One is overwhelmed at the response of Mr Yadav. But one is tempted to ask: What was he doing during the 15 years he and his wife Rabri Devi were the Chief Ministers of Bihar? Development died a rapid death pushing the State to the bottom of the economic pyramid and of the human development index among the States of India. How can we forget that it was during his Government in Bihar that the huge flood relief scandal took place.

Journalist P Sainath exposed how several politicians and others waited for the floods and droughts to come so that in the name of relief there could be an annual bonanza for them. It is said that they call the river Kosi the State's 'river of sorrow'. But for some people it is the river of opportunity.

Fifty years ago the proposal to construct a dam on the Kosi river at Barahkhetra was mooted. The project was expected to control the monsoon water flow and irrigate 2.5 million hectares and produce over 3,000 MW of electricity. The estimated cost of the project in 1954 was Rs 100 crores. But the project was overlooked because it was 'costly'.

True, there was the question of Nepal's cooperation in constructing the dam and related projects. But was it beyond solution? If India and Pakistan could come together to accept a rational division of waters of the five rivers flowing through the two countries, certainly India and Nepal too could have found an agreed plan of action not only to tame the Kosi but also other rivers originating from Nepal. That would have also meant lifting millions of people on both sides of the border out of perpetual poverty.

As Mr Yadav shares much wieght in the UPA Government at the Centre, he should be seen as the first to get his Government to approve a new version of the same project. If the UPA Government is sincere, it should revive the proposal the previous NDA Government had been pursuing: A plan for linking of rivers countrywide that would put to an end to the inter-State controversies over river water sharing. Also with a responsible Government in Patna now, it would be possible to implement what several expert bodies have been suggesting for long -- a dredging of the river mouth in Bihar so that the huge flow during the monsoon is not held up at the river mouth and actually goes into the Ganga.

But instead of that, Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz would rather think of how to harm the Narmada project by supporting Ms Medha Patkar against the elected State Governments in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh than dream of a national river grid. So by the time the next monsoon comes, be ready for a repeat of the same cycle of floods and relief camps. It will be another opportunity for the few!

Courtesy: www.dailypioneer.com, September 05, 2008