Mull(a/ai)periyar dam is a Damocles's sword dangling devilishly over Keralites- distraught by the unabated apprehensions of an imminent catastrophe.The engineering Goliath,an antique marvel but decrepit, designed to
carry a life span of 60 years funnily bounded to a dictum of 999 years to serve (not to bite the recipient but to drub the donor)-has presented sleepless nights to the 35 lacks petty mortals in the downside.
On the leeward side of the western ghats ,the lifeline of the Tamils in 4 rain shadow districts ,its fabulous verdure ,2.2 lack acres of lusty lush green catapulting in to a ghastly sprawling barren and dissolute strip,a vast desert-an unimaginable spectacle for its toiling masses.
The word Mullapperiyar brings back in the minds of acknowledgeable people , the horrendous spectacle of Morphi of the late 70's- fetid corpses piled up-stinking carrion on top of buildings ,suggesting the height of water walls gushed in, -the men trapped to death in a temple,the pictures of Gods remaining intact-immensely sordid and nauseating-of a forlorn city busily engaged in cleansing by the RSS men.
Six decades back,while consecrating Brakranangal to the nation ,Prime Minister Nehru said "Dams shall be our temples".But his soul will be trembling when he beholds the laments of his country men in the downstreams of the towering Dam.
Mullapperiyar is a symbol.A symbol of the sombre Indian polity,the vacuity of federal coexistence.It exposes the nonchalance of the enlightened elites on the face of a demanding disaster.It also spews the sermon often quoted by our zealot politicians that 'Science should not be questioned "when they tailor the people to believe that, the violent rush of water would flow in a line demarcated by them, with mathematical precision.
The dam is dying inch by inch. (Continued to page 2)
The issue is acutely complex.As in Sardar Sarovarthe tussle between a mammoth Dam and the nondescript mortals downside ,comes to the center stage.
The bigone month witnessed heated casuistry and overly emotive histrionics. The puerile overtones,the red herrings of the raucous politicians boiled over the streets while hooligans rampaged them.The media hypes regimented to the targeted audience-the rudderless and seedy yells of the Internet dwarfs-all mazed and straitjacketed our vision.
The appalling ineptitude of the regime at the center to intervene- tethered in the turmoils of political balance sheet,exacerbated with the vociferous and pervasive outbursts of some ministers,throwing federalism to the wind-have berated many a thinking citizens.
Happily ,for whatever reasons it may be,there is a consolatory containment of anger ,a respite on the every day trundling across the borders.It is time now ,we sit back ,rethink -what may come of the verdict -that the bond of brotherhood long cherished shall prevail. Let us make sure that the rabble rousers are given a fitting drub by reinforcing the camaraderie between the states. Our political mandarins on both sides need desist from their parochial joustings and keep the decibels low so that the peace loving people could return to the idyllic life they deserve.
Mullapperiyar is an overheated issue.'It is a ticklish issue 'for both states and no easy pushover. It defies any reasonable debate,but it demands a lot in the run-up to the crisis.
But, is a new Dam a panache? Hopefully not.There are other ways too."With out constructing a new Dam ,decommissioning the existing Dam ,TamilNadu can be provided with same quantity of water" says experts in the field.
Dr.R.Gopimani,from Trivandrum writes "The Hindu culture is against Dams."He quotes from 'Rigvetha'
-vrishteenam pushti samakritham rodhane papahethu-
There is equitable rain in nature.Preventing it from flowing as rivers is suicidal. Forgetting this paramount truth we behave as strange bed fellows.
But, since you can get there, it's not really so far....
Once in your life you should go on up there, and stand up there .....
and then come back down....
Try to prove me wrong, put everything up to the light....
Try to find the reason in it...
But don't just stop at the dam, because you can't tell anything from the dam. Go on up as far as the towns. Then turn around and come back, and stand up there a moment....
If you have the courage, talk to someone about it...
and then do your reading; keep records. What you have under your feet is the second worst landslide on the planet since the advent of Mankind; the worst happened in India, in Pamir, on the roof of the world. The second happened in the heart of Europe. And it didn't just fall. It was provoked."
It is my concerns..it,s my feelings..it,s my anger..it is my suppressed emotions...
ReplyDeleteYou put it in style..though i felt some words DAM-SIZE ie undigestable to me as BIGDAMS. a second dam at downstream is never a solution.
the story you quoted simply tells what is in the offing.
chandran kallath
the pact itself is most unjust,unequal,humiliating,onesided,and ridiculously longterm imperialistic.
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