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.

Tabrej’s family alleged that the attack was communal and that he was made to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’.

JAMSHEDPUR: A 22-year-old man died on Sunday after he was beaten up by locals and later arrested on suspicion of theft here in Saraikela Kharsawanand.

The deceased has been identified as Tabrej.

He was admitted to Sadar hospital yesterday morning and then referred to Tata Main Hospital, Jamshedpur.

Tabrej’s family has, however, alleged that the attack was communal and that he was made to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’.

“Some locals thrashed Tabrej and later gave him over to the police. He was suspected of theft but it was a communal attack. He was beaten because he had a Muslim name. They made him chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Hanuman’ again and again. We were not allowed to meet him at the hospital. We have the video of the incident. I demand the culprits be arrested,” Tabrej’s relative Maqsood Alam said while speaking to ANI.

“We want action against the police personnel who were on duty at that time,” another relative said.

An FIR has been registered and further investigation is underway, police said.

HYDERABAD: In an unexpected development,  RBI deputy governor Viral Acharya quit, nearly six months ahead of the end of his three-year term.

Confirming the same, the central bank in a statement on Monday said, “A few weeks ago, Dr Acharya submitted a letter to the RBI informing that due to unavoidable personal circumstances, he is unable to continue his term as a Deputy Governor of the RBI beyond July 23, 2019. Consequential action arising from his letter is under consideration of the Competent Authority.” 

Acharya, a Professor at the New York University’s Stern School of Business joined the banking regulator in January 2017 and his term was to expire next February. 

RBI sources told Express that ‘the issue was very much on the table, though the timing was unexpected.  “The government should act quick and appoint a deputy governor soon. It cannot be an internal replacement,” he added.  

It may be noted that Acharya was in the government’s cross-hairs last October opposing the centre’s demand for transfer of RBI’s excess reserves. 

In a sensational speech, he stressed the need for RBI’s independence and the importance of a central bank’s autonomy.  Invoking Argentina’s precedent, he warned that the governments that don’t pay heed to their central banks would certainly attract ‘the wrath of the markets.’ 

The speech was in response to the government’s insistence on getting its way on a host of issues including management of bad loans, credit to MSMEs and liquidity. Board members were at loggerheads in a stormy meeting in October that stretched for hours but ended inconclusively. 

This prompted Acharya to go public, expressing his disappointment through a public speech, which rattled the government.

Though officials in the Ministry of Finance initially tried to smoke the peace pipe at the central bank’s meeting last November, eventually, it led to the exit of the then RBI Governor Dr Urjit Patel the following month. 

Acharya was one of the outspoken deputy governor’s and had used public speeches as a medium to convey his ideas and proposals including setting up a bad bank or the need to pursue privatisation and banking consolidation.

delay due to CM’s Grama Vastavya; Shankar likely to get municipal administration, Nagesh primary and secondary education

BENGALURU: Exactly ten days after they took oath as ministers in the JDS-Congress coalition cabinet, H Nagesh and R Shankar are likely to get their portfolios on Monday.The duo that was supposed to take charge of their ministries before Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy set out on this ‘Grama Vastavya’ had to wait for his return.

Shankar, who was dropped from the cabinet only to make a comeback months later after withdrawing support to the coalition, is likely to get municipal administration portfolio.Interestingly, Ramesh Jarkiholi held the ministry before he was dropped from the cabinet to make way for late C S Shivalli. Following Shivalli’s death, the ministry had been lying vacant and is likely to be given to Shankar. After all his hobnobbing with Ramesh Jarkiholi despite his open dissent against the Congress, it is ironic that Shankar is likely to get the same portfolio earlier held by Jarkiholi. Another ministry – primary and secondary education – that was left vacant after the lone BSP MLA N Mahesh quit from the cabinet, is likely to be given to Nagesh.

In his bid to ensure the stability of the coalition government, Kumaraswamy decided to give away one of the two cabinet berths under the JDS quota to an independent MLA. Mahesh had been accommodated in the cabinet under the JDS quota in keeping with the party’s pre-poll alliance with BSP. While any shift of portfolios is unlikely, sources in the JDS suggest that senior leader and higher education minister G T Devegowda is hoping for a change of portfolios.

While no assurance has come in from the Chief Minister yet, the Congress is not too keen on disturbing the delicate balance it has achieved.

District in-charge minister Venkatrao Nadagouda has asked officials to ensure arrangements of each person who arrives at the village stay program to get access to the Chief Minister.

BENGALURU: After meeting more than 4,000 people on his first ‘Grama Vastavya’ outing, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is all set for the second leg of his pet project. On June 26 Kumaraswamy will visit Karegudda village in Raichur’s Manvi taluk. Preparations however are in full swing already with District Commissioner personally overlooking works required for the ‘Grama Vastavya’. Kumaraswamy will stay at a government school that is being given a fresh coat of paint. A whopping Rs 1 crore was spent on the first village stay outing including food, facilities and public rallies addressed by the Chief Minister. A similar plan is being put in place at Raichur.

DC Sharath has been visiting the Karegudda village once every day to oversee preparations while a team of police officers have identified locations for security posts. Makeshift offices to receive petitions by citizens, basic infrastructure, including water and toilers, to those who visit the Chief Minister are being set up. A team of officials from the Chief Minister’s office have been camping in Raichur to ensure timely completion of preparedness. In the first leg of his village visit HD Kumaraswamy, who returned to Bengaluru on Sunday, met about 4,000 people personally and received over 1,800 petitions online.
District in-charge minister Venkatrao Nadagouda has asked officials to ensure arrangements of each person who arrives at the village stay program to get access to the Chief Minister.

Food will be prepared for everybody who visits the venue, apart from students, teachers and staff of the government school that Kumaraswamy will stay at. The Chief Minister’s office has asked officials to spend judiciously on the arrangement, in-keeping with Kumaraswamy’s idea of keeping it a low key affair.

He said that he cannot speak about BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa becoming CM, and that the former CM will speak about it himself.

BELAGAVI: “The Congress and JDS are not working in the interest of the state. They have joined hands just to keep the BJP from coming to power,” said MoS (Railways) Suresh Angadi. He said that the people voted for the BJP to ensure development in the state, however the Congress and JDS are not governing well.

Angadi added, “All those opposing us are Congress products. The party is in its last leg, and interim elections are not important for the BJP. We want to work for the people instead of thinking about elections – we don’t want to waste our time and energy on it.”

He said that he cannot speak about BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa becoming CM, and that the former CM will speak about it himself. He spoke to reporters after inspecting development works being undertaken by the railways department on Sunday morning. “Track doubling work in Pune-Miraj, Miraj-Hubballi, Hubballi-Davangere are underway. Once they are complete, people of these regions can reach their destinations faster,” said the minister.

He also repeatedly alleges that there is a threat to his life.

BENGALURU: Two weeks after he fled the country, leaving thousands of people cheated of their investments running into several hundred crores, IMA Jewels founder and managing director Mohammed Mansoor Khan has released a video clip, supposedly from Dubai, on Sunday. He has accused a host of people, including JDS MLC Saravana, of causing the “collapse” of the company.

However, the JDS leader has denied any links with Khan.In the video, Khan refuses to accept that his was a ponzi scheme, saying that they were into “legal and proper business”. He claims that he wishes to return to Bengaluru, but that has got delayed. “I went to the airport on June 14 but was deplaned. Being a Friday, the immigration department was shut, so I could not fly that day. As soon as all formalities are taken care of, I shall return to my homeland,” he says.

He also repeatedly alleges that there is a threat to his life. “I am dealing with very dangerous people who are out to kill me. They know that the information I am going to reveal to the judiciary will get them into a lot of trouble, so they want to silence me. An IAS officer demanded Rs 10 crore when we applied for loan to bail out IMA. Since there was a little delay in arranging the money, he refused to process the papers and our company suffered closure,” he claims. 

Reacting to this, SIT investigating officer DCP S Girish said Khan’s allegations cannot be taken at face value and only a full investigation will bring out the truth.

In the video, Khan says: “I congratulate Ubaidullah Sharief (Congress worker), Mohammed Khalik Ahmed (editor, Pasban), Mukhtiyar Ahmed (named in a TADA case and discharged later), Feroz Abdullah Sait of Feroz Real Estate, Prestige Group’s Irfan and Saravana (JDS member and president of Jewellers’ Association), for their success in causing harm to IMA; also those from my group of directors who swindled money and those who spread hate messages that hastened the collapse of IMA.”

He goes on to say that in a previous audio clip, he had told the City Police Commissioner how he had to flee from the country to save himself and his family. He adds that he felt “demotivated” then and hence contemplated suicide. “Also, mine was not a planned exit, like some people are alleging. IMA had been facing financial issues since October, which we managed to protect the investors from, for long,” he says.
“My acquaintances and people within the management have betrayed me. I had no one to seek help from, and I had to leave. Out of thousands who made lots of money from the company in its 13 years of existence, no one stood by me during difficult times. Yet, I want to return. I request Alok Kumar to contact me on my earlier phone number. My passport has been impounded, delaying my return.”

‘Khan’s allegations baseless’

Reacting to allegations made against him by Mansoor Khan, Saravana told reporters, “There is no connection between me and him. The way his business functioned was damaging, and he doesn’t follow the association. Let him prove his allegations with evidence. I will file a defamation case against him after discussing with my lawyer.”