Indian Media Bash Blog

This was in response to the write up on Narmada Dam.

There have been a lot of mails opposing Narmada dam and supporting it’s “cause celebre” Medha Patkar. While the ecological damage and the uprooted people cannot be measured in pure monetary terms, I believe that the media needs to take a hard look at the realities instead.

The dam would be a life saver for the arid regions of Gujarat; provide drinking water to millions who otherwise have resorted to drawing ground water with impunity; provide electricity which is much needed resource. For all this, thousands of crores of public money have been sunk. Constructing the dam to it’s final height of 121 meteres is imperative. Or else, the money spent so far, would all go waste.

Interestingly, we have been dealing with ham handed approach to the issue. The story of displaced tribals is appealing to the jholawallas from JNU; Medha Patkar is a heroine for those “dispossesed”; the civil society has been drawn from their plush drawing rooms to talk about it and now the “film stars” have joined in the fray to milk it to whatever extent they can. Why does the media circus focus on these professional heart bleeders?

Would they join in protest for more pressing issues like compensation to Bhopal victims? Or those whose lives changed in 1984 riots? Or resort to hunger strikes for better public accountabilty? The political developments in Gujarat has seen Congress and BJP speak in one voice opposing Narmada Bachao Andolan. The entire drama has been seen being unfolded from a street in New Delhi, taking the country hostage for it’s mega projects.

These are hard questions which never get answered. The displacement because of the dam is foregone conclusion. However, a small vocal minorty cannot hold hostage to whatever “development” has taken on ground. So far, there has been no reliable reports on the quantum of rehabilitation and in the manner the project affected population have been “resettled”. I was hoping that Business Standard would instead focus on that.

For now, let the dam be constructed (it’s been hanging fire since 1961). For future, let’s focus instead on alternative channels by learning from our past mistakes. This is highly idealised scenario because we as Indians, love to shoot ourselves in the foot.

Subsequently, there was a damning article that appeared in The Pioneer.

The author writes in damning report about the NBA “leader” Medha Patkar. For once their source of funding is opaque. They remain rabble rousers at best trying to drum up support for an issue that’s stale and clearly out of flavour. There is a nagging suspicion that NBA is a front end for Thermal Power plant managers and promoters who would seek to nip the ecologically more beneficial hydro projects at any cost. A dollar can be really streched very far in this country.

Those “pro NBA” lobby is clearly misaligned with the needs of the nation. If the media denies the NBA idiots, it’s oxygen of publicity, I am sure that the “revolution” would die it’s own natural death.