Interconnection of Ken and Betua rivers will be a boon for water starved areas of Bundelkhand

SUNIL NEGI

Global warming and its dangerous consequences are being experienced the world over and India is not untouchable of its dire consequences. The rapidly changing climate circle due to global warming as a result of the vast scale deforestation, increasing industrialization, automobiles and massive emission of green house gases has made the lives of the inhabitants not only highly troublesome but has also resulted in the depletion of underground water reserves of the country. The areas of Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh and several other areas in various parts of the country reel under acute water shortage, drought n consequent starvation since ages due to shortage of monsoons as well as these area being devoid of the river water including irrigational facilities never ever made available to them by the governments of states as well as the centre. As a result of the plight of the people of the water starved areas of the country  resulting in mass scale influx to cities and towns and subsequent suicides of the farmers in various parts of the country the central  government during the NDA tenure of AB Vajpayee as prime minister has launched an over ambitious project of interconnecting sixty big and small rivers of the country in order to allocate their water to maximum water starved areas of the country instead of it going waste. After the detailed exercise of years together and on the directives of the apex as well, the senior officials and experts  under the jurisdiction of Ministry of water resources have finally decided to  mutually connect the Ken and Betwa rivers of Uttar Pradesh n Madhya Pradesh that would definitely pave the way for several other rivers’ interconnecting  exercises thus benefitting the vast majority of the water starved population, agricultural fields and districts of the country such as historically known BUNDELKHAND etc where  several wars were fought for procuring water. Shortly, this over-ambitious project of interconnecting the two rivers of MP and UP is going to acknowledge the green signal thus protecting both the states and its people from the worrisome cycle of drought and also adequately managing the proper and pro people utilization of the maximum water that otherwise used to go waste since time immemorial. The current union water resources and Ganga rejuvenation saffron clad minister Uma Bharti is credited with taking forward this significant mission to its suitable conclusion. Though the initiative of inter connecting several rivers of the country got a huge thrust during NDA government of AB Vajpayee but was, later on, put on cold storage when his government changed to say, political analysts. India is one of the largest consumers of water in the world and about twenty percent of the water capacity is in India out of which merely four percent water is worth useable. It is a known fact that in view of the increasing global warming there is a constant threat to the Himalayan glaciers which are melting at a very high speed that may result in the overflowing of rivers and subsequently floods all around. Not only this but the water starved states do not get any advantage of these excessive over flooded rivers due to nonavailability of either rain water or rivers in their respective areas. In view of this, the adequate and proper management of the river water is the need of the hour. Therefore inter connection of rivers and making necessary arrangements to make water resources available to the drought prone districts of the country will dramatically resolve the age old water shortage problems of the drought stricken areas of the country, to name one BUNDELKHAND. This is indeed a revolutionary initiative, initiated during Vajpayee’s tenure and am sure if implemented successfully and in record time, would be a great boon to the water starved districts and states of the country. There may be voices of dissent by the environmentalists of the country, as major areas of forests would be affected during the process but when hard decisions are taken and in wider public and agricultural interest, some of the sacrifices are mandatory. Hope our environmentalists would understand this fact and cooperate with the authorities concerned to let through this most viable project at the earliest in wider public and national interest.