Archives for June 2019

Gurmeet Singh, who is currently lodged at Sunaria jail after being convicted in two rape cases and the murder of a journalist, had sought parole over a month ago claiming that he has to tend to his fields in Haryana’s Sirsa.

Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Singh’s parole application may be canceled as land records submitted by the Revenue Department showed that he does not own land.

Gurmeet Singh, who is currently lodged at Sunaria jail after being convicted in two rape cases and the murder of a journalist, had sought parole over a month ago claiming that he has to tend to his fields in Haryana’s Sirsa.

Following his application for the parole for 42 days, the district administration has been asked to submit a report to Commissioner, Rohtak Division.

According to the subsequent report that was submitted by the Revenue Department to the Sirsa district administration, Gurmeet Singh does not own any land of his own in Sirsa.

The report that was submitted by the department, states that the Dera sect owns 250 acres of land. However, there is no mention of the Dera leader’s name.

The report also states that the entire land is owned by the Dera Sacha Sauda Trust

This thus negates the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (temporary release) Act on the basis of which the parole has been sought.

According to the Act, a prisoner may be temporarily released if the state government is satisfied that his release is necessary for ploughing, sowing or harvesting or carrying on any other agricultural operation of his land or his father’s undivided land in the possession of the prisoner.

Gurmeet Singh’s parole thus stands to be canceled as a result despite the jail superintendent vouching for his good conduct.

Meanwhile, the police fear violence, akin to riots that were seen at the time of his arrest, if he is released.

At least 200 lakes and ponds in the national capital have been encroached and lost. They have been turned into cremation grounds, temples, government schools and even a bus terminal of the Delhi Transport Authority.

The Satpula lake was constructed around the 1300s.

New Delhi: In Delhi, the discourse on water is measured by a certain scale of nostalgia. The city’s plush area Hauz Khas was named after an ancient water reservoir by the same name. Centuries later the name remains, but the water bodies associated with it have disappeared; so has water.

Latha, 39, a resident of Khirki area in south Delhi, recalled the story of the now dry Satpula lake in a completely different memory. “My mother-in-law would tell us about a big lake behind the house where we now live. She told us about the farmers in the area who used it for irrigation. She showed us how children jumped into the lake for a bath,” she said.

“But where is the lake now? There is a sewer behind the house,” she said.

The Satpula is a manmade lake reportedly constructed around the 1300s. History has recorded its use as a dam at one point. But the lake’s original catchment area today has been reduced to include a children’s park, public gymnasium, benches and ample shade for romance.

Not far from where Latha lives, Natthu, a 35-year-old gardener, started residing in the 40-acre lake compound with his family seven months ago.

Natthu said he has never seen the lake filled with water. “I water the garden every day with the help of the installed borewell pump and a network of pipes. The borewell is what feeds both my family and the grass. I have only heard stories of water here,” he said.

Amid severe water crisis in the capital, the Satpula lake appears as a patch of land attempting to spring into a garden. The only thing missing is the lake itself. Since the city first played host to civilisation in the 6th century, it has witnessed the formation of 1011 water bodies to attend to consumption needs. Of the total, only 611 remain today.

Delhi has 274 dried up lakes, of which 190 have been lost forever.

For 54-year-old Rajesh and his friends, all residents of Khirki, mention of Satpula lake brings back old memories. “The lake had a depth of more than 20 metres 30 years ago. It was spread across a huge area. We used to swim across its length,” Rajesh says, fondly remembering his childhood.

The 54-year-old explained that the lake had a systemic way of collecting rain water from nearby areas through seven channels. “Earlier, the gradient of the lake kept it full because water would enter from everywhere. Now water flows through numerous plants and pumping stations,” he said.

In addition to lower ground water level in the city, the lake dried up sooner than expected after it became a dumping ground for excavated soil. Rajesh says, “When Delhi Metro began in this area, all excavated material was dumped here. This blocked the channels that brought in water and changed the orientation of the area.”

“It is a park now. And here we play cards under the trees,” he added.

In a 2014 report, the Delhi Park and Gardens Society stated that at least 200 lakes and ponds have been encroached and lost. They have been turned into cremation grounds, temples, government schools and even a bus terminal of the Delhi Transport Authority.

On June 23, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) formally got the green signal to commence the revival initiative for the Satpula lake. Termed a challenging project, the lake is expected to be filled with more than 1,000 kilolitres of treated water from an adjacent running drain.

However, the DJB estimates that only 15 per cent of this will percolate into the ground.

Neglect Caused by Urban Planning

With the population rising and the country moving towards its urban epicentres, the discourses of water management and urban water bodies have emerged as a necessary project of modern innovation. In retrospect, the story of Satpula lake is a possible foreword on the many ignored aspects of water in urban planning.

News18 spoke to Kanchi Kohli, senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Research to understand the space lakes have in modern urban ecosystems.

“Our current state is a result of gross misuse and neglect. Lakes in urban development have been completely ignored. The ecology of lakes has been sidelined as part of urban design,” she said.

According to Kohli, an assessment of the water worries of today must put to test rapid commercialization and increase in population density – two factors that have disintegrated water bodies from modern living.

“Widespread use of borewell extraction or tapped water for personal consumption has disconnected residents from natural public spaces like lakes and ponds which have a variety of common uses. Hence, the push for reviving these spaces,” she said.

“We need to move out of the worldview of the current residents and see these spaces from the perspective of those who have lived in-effect of these spaces,” added Kohli.

While 32 per cent of Indian households boast of having safe tap water supply, 18 per cent or 6,25,000 households of Delhi suffer without it. Amid this figure and depleting ground water levels, 21 Indian cities, including Delhi, are feared will run out of water by 2020 without sufficient water bodies.

Manu Bhatnagar, principal director of the Natural Heritage division of Indian National Trust for Arts and Culture (INTACH) told News18 that adopting the practice of viewing lakes as valuable common spaces within our urban ecosystem must include an understanding of new catchment characteristics.

“First, roads and boundary walls built over the catchment area prevent water from entering these spaces. Second, water on the surface percolates fasters into the ground because of a low ground water level. Hence, we get to see the dry surface of a water body. Third, urban water bodies have been robbed off of their perennial nature by being cut off from the river,” he said.

For instance, Sanjay lake and Bhalswa lake got disconnected from Yamuna due to the creation of intervening embankments. On the other hand, lakes like Hauz Khas went dry because of decreased groundwater levels.

Irrespective of how a lake is revived or rejuvenated in the urban ecosystems, experts have argued, the reason and the method for doing so must be well-defined to benefit urban planning.

Revive, Rejuvenate, Rejoice

Hauz-i-Shamsi, popularly known as Shamsi lake, was once spread over 1,000 acres in Delhi’s Mehrauli area. It is a still-water body put to no use. Built in 1230, the lake has seen a reduction in its catchment area following construction activity. Besides, the lake is also filled with sewage.

Ali, 60, a resident of Mehrauli, recalled one incident where the lake water got severely contaminated. “A few months ago, the drain running adjacent to the lake witnessed flooding and all the sewer water entered the lake. The water level of the lake had risen. After using influence, a local leader was successful in convincing the authorities to clean it. Manual scavengers were sent in the drain to clean them,” he said.

Earlier, only fresh water was used to fill up till the top of the embankment, but now the expansion of real estate and population have destroyed everything, added Ali.

The lake assumes special importance in that area given its location next to the Jahaz Mahal which hosts the annual ‘Phool Walon ki Sair’ festival.

The course of Shamsi lake, experts have said, may meet the same fate as the Satpula lake if attention to good urban planning is not given.

Ankit Srivastava, advisor to the DJB, noted that prior to rejuvenation, it is important to identify the three different types of contaminated bodies: dry lakes, sewage contaminated lakes (severe) and wet lakes filled with rain water (mild).

Once identified, each lake has its own definite steps of rejuvenation or revitalisation which can be put to different uses apart from drinking.

Srivastava said, “Historically, Delhi has always had a multitude of water bodies that have been put to difference uses as per the rainfall pattern in the area. Lakes in Delhi have acted as a source of harvested rain water, a buffer against rain water flooding and a medium for groundwater recharging. These bodies have naturally been designed to be self-sustainable”.

According the DJB advisor, having more water bodies in the city is a way to reduce the burden of providing drinking water from the government. “Lakes and ponds can provide clean water for use to everyone by raising groundwater table. Quality of water in water bodies is an important aspect. The government can share its responsibility with these social spaces,” he added.

The DJB has planned to construct six mega lakes in Delhi in Rohini, Timarpur, Nilothi, Rajghat, Dwarka and Najafghar. In addition, the DJB also plans to revive existing 250 water bodies.

Across all its projects, the water body’s primary aim is to improve the quality of water, and at the same, improve access and availability. Revival of lakes like the Shamsi or the Satpula must also mean reviving areas like Mehrauli or Khirki, Srivastava said.

Raising concerns over rising incidents of communal hatred in the country, the Congress leader asked the BJP to keep its ‘New India’ to itself.

New Delhi: Reacting to the recent incidents of lynchings and violence against minorities, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday said Jharkhand has become a factory of lynching and violence. He asked the ruling BJP to keep with it the ‘New India’ and give back an ‘Old India’ where love and culture prevailed.

The creation of a ‘New India’ found frequent mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rallies in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

“In ‘Old India’, there was no hatred, anger or lynching. ‘New India’ is one where humans are enemies of each other. You won’t be scared of animals in a jungle, but you’ll be scared of humans in a colony. Give us an India where Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians live for each other,” Azad said in the Upper House.

Raising concerns over the rising incidents of communal hatred, the Congress leader asked the BJP to keep its ‘New India’ to itself. “Hindus used to feel pain when Muslims and Dalits used to get hurt (in old India). When something used to get into the eyes of Hindus, Muslims and Dalits used to shed tears for them,” he added.

Referring to the President’s speech on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th-anniversary celebrations, Azad said, unfortunately, a candidate of the ruling party called the killer of the Father of the Nation a patriot and no action was taken and the candidate was a parliamentarian now.

“My tongue will burn…I cannot repeat the remarks…I have a complaint to the Prime Minister, why didn’t you take action. Mahatma Gandhi may be Congress President but he was Father of the Nation…I would not have mentioned it here but President’s speech mentions his birth anniversary celebrations…BJP should take action…It still has time till October…,” Azad said.

Azad while attacking BJP for defending 2008 Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Thankur, however, did not mention her by name and said: “How is this possible and how someone can defend this? Though it doesn’t make any difference to us, this is a blot on the face of the ruling party which cannot be wiped out.”

He also referred to how former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on complaints about a Congress candidate in 1952 had instead urged people to vote for an Independent candidate who had a clean image.

He said rapes were at an all-time high including heinous crimes like rapes on minor and that “Beti Padhao and Beti Bachao” was just plain talking.

Azad said crime against women have risen manifold and urged the government to ensure 50 per cent reservation to women in Parliament as it was having an absolute majority.

He said Congress’s attempts were thwarted last time through the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha. Unemployment, he said was at its peak with the government trying to curb reports by various agencies and that the youth who voted for BJP needed justice.

On Saturday, a man who was assaulted on suspicion of theft in Jharkhand’s Kharsawan district on June 18 and beaten up for hours before being handed over to the police succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital. The man was identified as Tabrez Ansari, 24.

The death was reported days after similar incidents in Delhi and Assam. A Muslim cleric was assaulted in Delhi by men after he refused to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ while a group of Muslim youth was attacked and forced to chant the religious slogan as well as ‘Pakistan Murdabad’.

Expressing regret over the inaction of BJP against wrongdoers, Azad said the Opposition would stand united in the fight for ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. But at the same time, he asserted that citizens should also be able to see the difference the party is trying to bring.

From being a food-deficit country, India had achieved the distinction of being a top exporter of food but to retain that edge it needed to revive its reservoirs, lakes and other traditional water bodies, said water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat,

Representative image.New Delhi: A water shortage could cut food exports from India, a leading supplier of a number of food products to the world, Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat warned on Monday.

From being a food-deficit country, India had achieved the distinction of being a top exporter of food but to retain that edge it needed to revive its reservoirs, lakes and other traditional water bodies, Shekhawat said in a statement. “Judicious use of water can save India from future calamities,” Shekhawat said.

India, a leading producer of an array of food commodities, is sitting on large stockpiles of rice, wheat and sugar. It emerged as the world’s biggest rice exporter in 2012, selling nearly 12 million tonnes of the staple annually on the world market, including 4 million tonnes of the aromatic basmati variety, exclusively grown in India and Pakistan.

But rice is a water-intensive crop. Government research bodies and experts say Indian farmers need 4,500 to 5,000 litres of water to grow one kg of rice.

Water is typically scarce in the summer months, but the situation has been particularly grim this year in western and southern states that received below average rainfall in the 2018 monsoon season. This year, the monsoon has delivered 38% lower-than normal, or average, rainfall since the start of the season on June 1, according to data compiled by the state-run India Meteorological Department.

After a weak start, monsoon rains, that water half of the country’s farmlands lacking irrigation, have covered nearly half of the country and conditions are favourable for further advances into the central and western parts this week, a weather department official said on Monday.

India’s water demand is projected to be double its supply by 2030, the National Institute for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog said in a report last year.