Dams towards ………..Development or Destruction ….?

We are living in an era of development which leads us also towards destruction. Even in this 21st century poor people are forced to lead their lives in a path of agony which they never wish to do. In a way they go against their own will in order to satisfy the "so called" powerful men and women, who control the poor and the oppressed. The powerful politicians and others take advantage of the voiceless people and usurp their rights. In the name of helping the people they enjoy a life of luxury while the poor and the oppressed still suffer spending their lives on the railway platforms and the road side pavements. The politicians raise their voices to the maximum when they come for the election campaign. But after the election when they are asked to raise voice against the atrocities done to the voiceless people, hardly do they pay heed to their needs. All they need is nothing but the power. In the name of building bridges and dams the power hunger politicians fill their coffers with gold and diamond and fail to build the bridges and dams at least with proper bricks. You may wonder why all these? Undoubtedly all these things are necessary to realize and know the sufferings the people undergo because of the selfish politicians. In the end of November heavy rains lashed the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and about 22 people were reported to be dead. Because of the heavy rain 50,000 hectares of crops were submerged in the Cauvery delta districts and about 64,000 hectares were officially declared flood-hit. During the heavy rains there were very many destructions all around Tamil Nadu and people found it extremely difficult to take shelter in their houses and thousands of huts in the coastal areas were damaged.

There are many dams and reservoirs in the country but very often they are not used properly. This causes a great danger in the lives of the poor and the oppressed. When the available resources are not properly utilized, the GOVT plans a lot to construct a great number of dams and due to this there is not enough development rather destruction. The dams are mainly built in order to retain the water. The main function of the dams can be described as follows:   The dams are used to generate power and to supply water. They help the people to control and stabilize water flow and irrigation. Though the function of the dams is the abovementioned purpose, there have been a lot of incidents where the dams fail to attain the purpose and thus many people end up their lives in suicides. The dams have been a place for storing the water and hardly have they been a place from where the people could have an access to water supply and irrigation.

The dams in our place are opened only when there is a flood and when the dams are full. There is also another heartbreaking issue because of building dams. Though the purpose of building dams is to help the people, the impact is more harmful than its benefit. Dams affect many ecological aspects of a river. Dams slow the river and this disturbance may cause a big trouble to the environment. Many environmentalists like Medha pathkar and Arundhati Roy have fought against this evil and still the GOVT is very keen on building dams. All that the GOVT does must be for the good of the people and when it doesn't help, the GOVT must quit the plan for helping the poor.

The Narmada dam project has been a big controversial issue and its environmental impact has been widely debated all over the country. Since the late 1980s this problem exists and the impact of this project is more than its benefit. According to the government, the Narmada Valley Dam Projects will provide water to 20 to 40 million people, irrigate 1.8 to 1.9 million hectares of land, and produce 1450 megawatts of power. The Narmada River runs through three states: Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Indian GOVT plans to build some 3,200 dams. The Narmada Valley Development Project (NVDP) is the single largest river development project in India. This project is one of the largest hydroelectric projects in the world. The impact of this large project threatens not the powerful politicians but the poor Adivasi families, peasants and the innocent laborers. This project will displace more than 1.5 million people from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. 

The struggle against this project was not begun with in a day or two. It is a struggle started many years back. It was in the year 1999 that the innocent Adivasies raised their voices against this project telling the GOVT that they are ready to drown and die in order to stop this devastating development plans. Because of the NVDP the innocent people are going to be affected and the project is carried out without the participation of the people. Over 4, 00,000 million people will lose their lands and among them about 7,000 people have been resettled. The available resources tell us that more than a million people will be displaced and they will be left alone with out proper compensation. The poor Adivasies, peasants and laborers who find it extremely difficult to lead their lives happily are forced to give their own lands and get out under control. Medha pathkar has repeatedly said that "the assessment of large dams like the Sardar Sarovar cannot be made on the basis of the displacement-rehabilitation issue alone. It becomes important to ask why the Adivasies, peasants, and laborers should sacrifice their life and resources. Instead of spending most of the irrigation allocations of Gujarat on this single project, we appeal to concentrate all the attention, resources and power for true, sustainable, decentralized alternatives without the problem of displacement."

In our country 200 million people don't have an access to safe drinking water; 600 million people lack proper sanitation and above 350 million people live below poverty line. A great number of poor people do not have access to fulfill their fundamental needs. At this crucial stage is it very much necessary to build such a huge dam which will affect the lives of the millions of our brothers and sisters?. Arundhati Roy, an environmentalist in her book "The cost of living" has said that "Big dams are obsolete. They lay the earth to waste. They cause floods, water logging, salinity; they spread disease. There is mounting evidence that links big dams to earth quake". When we look at all these impacts of building dams, if we have hearts to feel with, we may raise in rebellion against this project. There are also other dam projects which cause very many impacts on the poor and the oppressed.

As citizens of this nation and as energetic youth  in particular, it is our prime responsibility to raise our voice for the innocent people who are affected in the name of building dams. When we critically analyze such issues, we can clearly realize the truth that the dams lead the nation not towards development but towards destruction. Even after knowing the crooked game played by our GOVT are we going to keep mum, as we are always, or are we going to do something good for the people? Take time to reflect a little and do something for the development of the nation. Let us be ready to encourage everything that is good for the people and that leads the nation towards development. Let us also be ever ready to fight against all that leads the nation towards destruction. If we are not going to do, who else will do? If not now when are we going to do? Let us start today, at this time and at this minute. If we are united, no one can stop us from marching towards development.