Demanding Aviral Ganga (Unimpeded flow of Ganga) 26-year-old Sant
Aatmabodhanand of Matri Sadan Ashram, Haridwar, Uttarakhand is on ‘fast
unto death’ for last 124 days. He is on fast since October 24, 2018. He is
following the path of Swami Nigamanand, Baba Nagnath and Swami Sanand (Prof.
G.D. Agrawal) who have sacrificed their life for the cause of Ganga. Swami
Sanand died after 111 days of continuous fast. (Photo:Sant
Aatmabodhanand)
The
fast has exposed the face of ruling political parties which are slaves of their
corporate donors who wish to continue to truncate, mutilate and poison Ganga to
monetize her water and her minor minerals. Donors of western India and their
politicians in collaboration with North Indian counterparts seem to have
prepared a blue print to rob Ganga basin of every natural heritage in myriad
disguises in the name of their monetary growth at the cost of Ganga.
World
Bank Group and its staff of all shades have been promoting contradictory
projects in the Ganga basin to disrupt the river by facilitating projects which
are environmentally disastrous. Notably, projects which are destroying Ganga has either
monetary or non-monetary support of the World Bank Group.
The Hindu
news report below refers to one of the recent reports of the Bank which is
classic “Bankspeak”. A computer analysis of more than 65 years of the bank’s
annual reports has revealed decline in factual precision of its language. For
instance, Bank no longer talk about preventing hunger. It talks of “food
security.” It must be remembered that the word “governance” made its first
appearance in 1990. It has been statistically confirmed that Banks and donor
driven NGOs are using less of concrete language. The assessment commissioned by
the World Bank and submitted to the Central Water Commission merits scrutiny
from the angle of ulterior motives of “Bankspeak”.
Residents
of Ganga basin must be wary of people who speak the language of the Bank and
donor driven NGOs. Struggle for Aviral and Nirmal Ganga has failed so far
because of such people. We must identify their trail by paying rigorous
attention to their linguistic fingerprints because the world is
"determined" by the language we speak and write.
There is a need to expose parties and NGOs who are wittingly or unwittingly complicit in the
ongoing killing of Ganga.
The struggle for Aviral and Nirmal Ganga faces threat from the harmful
motives of all kinds of wage slaves in order to secure Aviral and Nirmal Ganga
by making parties promise Aviral and Nirmal Ganga by recognizing the
non-negotiable legal right of Ganga and other rivers in their manifesto.
May 2019
general elections can turn out to be a referendum on enforceable legal rights of Ganga.
Gopal Krishna
Ganga basin States stare at three-fold rise in crop failures by 2040
The
Ganga river basin could see crop failures rise three-fold and drinking water
shortage go up by as much as 39% in some States between now and 2040, says an
assessment commissioned by the World Bank and submitted to the Central Water
Commission.
If
there is no intervention, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar are likely to see a deficit in irrigation water of 28%, 10%, 10% and 15%
respectively in 2040 as compared to the current levels. Madhya Pradesh would
see a 39%, Delhi 22% and Uttar Pradesh a 25% deficit in drinking water during
the same period, the assessment released earlier this week noted.
“The
volume of extracted groundwater is expected to more than double, leading to an
increase in the critical blocks. Low flow values in the rivers are predicted to
decline compared to present levels…Water quality and environmental flow
conditions already critical will deteriorate further,” the report has warned.
The
report is based on a modelling study that simulates river flow, water quality
and groundwater levels in the different States and regions within the Ganga
river basin.
To
extrapolate, the model considered land use, infrastructure, population,
industry and agriculture settings as well as the precipitation and temperature
settings.
The
aim of the report was to strengthen the “capacity for strategic basin planning,
develop a set of scenarios for the development of the Ganga basin and build a
strong and accessible knowledge base.”
Complete
story is available at: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ganga-basin-states-stare-at-three-fold-rise-in-crop-failures-by-2040/article26353826.ece
Post a Comment