The VIP ghat, a beautifully maintained and well-guarded one, situated less than a mile away from the fabled Har Ki Pauri, has got a new name thanks to the irrigation minister of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. Previously known as Choudhary Charan Singh ghat, it has been rechristened as Shankaracharya ghat during the recent visit of the UP minister Dharampal Singh to the holy city to mark Shankaracharya Jayanti. This aside, he assured the people of Uttarakhand that extra 2500 cusecs would be released to help the holy river be in its full flow up to Allahabad.
Singh justified the rechristening of the ghat, citing the Centre’s recently launched crusade against VIP culture. “The previous name of the ghat owed its origin to the VIP culture. It is now being named after Shankaracharya to mark the end of the discriminatory culture that was nurtured for long,” he said.
Dwelling on the long-pending contentious issue of the distribution of assets between Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Singh said, “We would work on the formula agreed on the division of assets, giving give 75% to UP and the rest 25% to Uttarakhand. While eight canals based in Uttarakhand have been handed over to Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh on its part has given 37 canals to Uttarakhand. Even if something is left unsettled things would be amicably sorted out at a later stage.”
However, as expected, the announcement of the UP irrigation minister has evoked mixed reactions. As the farmers of some parts of the two states welcomed it brought frown on those from Delhi, NCR and western UP.
Speaking to The Pioneer, executive engineer, UP irrigation department, C B Yadav said, “We are presently releasing 600 cusecs of water in the Ganga river and now we would arrange extra water from both eastern and upper Ganga canals. To maintain 2500 cusecs of water in the main stream, some 1500 cusecs would be cut from upper Ganga canal. Delhi regions would get some 500 cusecs from the upper Ganga canal while supply from other minor Ganga canals would be curtailed.”
A farmer Roshan Singh from NCR region said, “Every summer, we have been facing difficulty in the matter of irrigation since the time water supply was reduced in the upper Ganga canal. This year too, we are going to face the problem perhaps in a more acute form. This would continue to happen as long as the main stream is helped to have a full flow at the expense of the flow of the canals.”
However SDO upper Ganga canal Sushil Kumar Yadav dismissed the apprehension, saying, “The water is being released in the canal as per the current demand of sugarcane farmers. There is ample water supply.” Asked about the peak summer season and the challenges to maintain sufficient level of water, he said, “From 15 June, monsoon is expected to set in. Besides, we get sufficient water supply from Tehri reservoir. The glaciers would start melting in May- June. There is thus no problem for water supply.”