With Uma Bharti being made the Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, environmentalists who have been struggling for years against construction of large dams, especially those on the Ganga and its major tributaries, are hoping Bharti will take some effective measures to save the rivers from being dammed in Uttarakhand where the Ganga and Yamuna originate.
However, they point out that the Ganga and other rivers could be saved from dams in the State of their origin if Bharti maintains the stand she had in the past before being made a Union Minister. After touring Uttarakhand last year, Bharti had said that that the Ganga comprises only the waters of the Alaknanda and Mandakini as the Bhagirathi was not merging with the river beyond the Tehri dam.
Bharti had undertaken the Ganga Samagra Yatra in 2012 from Ganga Sagar in West Bengal to Gangotri in Uttarakhand. She is also a strong devotee of goddess Ganga and has in the past protested against the negative repercussions of dams on the river and on the Dhari Devi shrine on the banks of the Alaknanda here.
However, activists also point out that though Bharti has been a strong advocate for a free flowing, perennial and pure Ganga, she has often stated that she is not against the construction of dams.
Matu Jansangathan is an organisation that has been at the forefront of protests against construction of large dams in Uttarakhand, especially on the Pindar river, the only major tributary of the Ganga not yet dammed. Vimal Bhai of Matu Jansangathan said that at a time when the Kotlibhel power projects threaten to destroy the form of the Ganga near Devprayag where the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers merge and take the name of the Ganga, Bharti could do much to save the Ganga and its tributaries.
“Her activism for the Ganga facilitated her re-entry into the BJP and it is because of the blessings of goddess Ganga that she is now a Union minister. We are hoping that she will work to save the Ganga from dams and contamination. She has been active in this sphere and has been a frequent visitor to Uttarakhand, so Bharti should not fall into the trap of forming various committees but use her official powers to get the work done,” he stressed.
Hemant Dhyani of Ganga Ahvaan movement that is at the forefront of saving the Ganga from dams and strongly advocated establishment of the eco-sensitive zone in the Bhagirathi valley, says that so far Bharti has shown seriousness towards the cause of the Ganga. “During her 2011 protest focused on Uttarakhand, she had written to the Prime Minister demanding that the original form of the Dhari Devi temple be retained, that a stop be ordered on various hydro power projects in Uttarakhand and that the effects of the Tehri dam be reviewed. I have copies of these letters with me but Bharti’s stand on these issues in her present capacity is yet to be cleared. However, before attempting to clean the Ganga in the plains the minister should ensure that the river is kept free flowing, perennial and pure near its source in Uttarakhand,” he said.