Letter from Sri. Sagar Dhara on Prof. Agarwal's fast unto death

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Letter from Sri. Sagar Dhara on Prof. Agarwal's fast unto death

2008/5/21 Sagar Dhara <sagdhara@mail.com>:

Dear friend:

Dr GD Agarwal, former Dean, IIT'K and former Member secretary, Central Pollution Control Board, and a very respected personality in the environmental engineering world in India and South Asia has decided to go on a fast unto death against the damming of the River Bhagirathi. I am attaching material that explains his decision.

If you agree with the cause for which GD is fighting, I request you to send a letter to the PM to this effect (a draft is attached, but you may change it). I also request you to have your letter endorsed by people you know who may agree to sign your letter to the PM.

A delegation of concerned citizens is attempting to meet the PM in about a fortnight from now to appraise the PM of the situation. If you do decided to spare a little time to collect signatures from others, since time is short, it may be advisable to collect signatures from a few prominent persona. But do send the letter to the PM to reach by this month end, with a copy to Mr S K Gupta, Envirotech Instruments, A-271, Okhla Phase 1, New Delhi 110020 (envirotech@vsnl.com), who is part of the concerned citizens in Delhi who are coordinating efforts to support GD for the cause he has taken up.

Best wishes.

Sagar

------------------------------------------------------------

Your address

Date:

Dr. Manmohan Singh

The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India

Government of India, South Block,

New Delhi 110 001

Namaskar,

Subject: Conservation of BHAGIRATHI River

We understand that a series of Dams are being planned for construction on the river Ganges between the Gangotri glacier and Uttarkashi for generation of Hydropower. Construction of a dam disturbs the natural flow regime, ecology, and the belief of devout Hindus in purity of the river Ganges that they consider sacred. Thinkers and social workers of present times, such as Pandit Mohan Malaviya and our respected past Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, have written how it binds the population of India with countless beliefs and faith.

Urbanization and non-sustainable industrial development has sullied Ganga and other rivers. To correct the wrong done, river conservation programs were launched. The first such effort was formulated as ‘Ganga Action Plan’ under the directions of former Prime Minister, late Shri Rajiv Gandhi.

Except in the Himalayan reach, the Ganges is made to carry sewage from cities and foul wastes from industries. Large amounts of water are abstracted. Now the onslaught is on the Himalayan reach, on the River Bhagirathi. First, the Tehri dam was built, then Maneri Bhali II at Uttarkashi. Next a series of 5 dams are planned or being built between the Gangotri glacier and Uttarkashi for generation of hydropower. At these sites water is stored, then released periodically through tunnels at suitable locations where power houses are built, back into the stream channel. The same is repeated again (and again) further downstream. The result is that in long stretches and over considerable period of time, there is no flow in the channel. The Ganges runs dry.

The final insult is that the Environment Impact Assessment report of the projects, states that no monument of historical, religious or archaeological value is affected!

Professor Dr. G. D. Agrawal, formerly Professor and Dean at IIT, Kanpur, and Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board, a noted teacher, a renowned environmentalist and a devout Hindu, in protest of such callous attitude, has decided to go on fast from June 13, 2008, until death, unless it is decided that henceforth, all development work which affects the flow in the stream channel between Gangotri and Uttarkashi is stopped.

I/we strongly agree with the stand taken by Professor Agrawal. It is a matter of making choice between a thousand megawatts of power and upholding the faith of billions of people. We request you to kindly intervene and halt the headlong destruction of the national environment, and the loss of bio-diversity and human life and preserve India's ecological future.

Thanking You,

Yours Truly,

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Dr. G. D. Agrawal Scientist and Rishi

Dr. G. D. Agrawal Scientist and Rishi

Meeting Dr. G. D. Agrawal in his spartan, two room cottage in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, you would never guess what an accomplished and distinguished scientist he is – first Member-Secretary of the Government of India’s Central Pollution Control Board, former Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at IIT Kanpur and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. The list goes on and on.

Yet this eminent professional sweeps his own floors, washes his own clothes and cooks his own meals. He retains only a few possessions and dresses in homespun khadi. At the age of 76, his main mode of transport within Chitrakoot is a bicycle and when he travels further afield, he goes by ordinary bus and second-class train. These are the deliberate choices of a devout Hindu whose deepest values are for simplicity and reverence for nature. Dr G.D. Agrawal is the doyen of environmental engineering professionals in India. Well past retirement, he continues to teach and inspire students as an Honorary Professor of Environmental Sciences at the Mahatma Gandhi Chitrakoot Gramodaya Vishwavidyalaya, in Chitrakoot (M.P.).

Dr Agrawal is a much sought-after EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) consultant and a Director of Envirotech Instruments (P) Limited, New Delhi – a company that he established with some of his former students from IIT-Kanpur. He is an engineer’s engineer, the person senior professionals turn to for solutions to difficult technical problems. At CPCB he was instrumental in shaping India’s pollution control regulatory structure. He has been a member of various official committees for policy-making and administrative mechanisms to improve India’s environmental quality.

Dr Agrawal is a legendary and inspiring teacher whose students remember him with awe, admiration and affection. In 2002, his former students at IIT-Kanpur conferred on him the Best Teacher Award. He has guided scores of Masters and Doctoral students who are now leaders in the field of environmental engineering and science. Among his more prominent students was the late Anil Agrawal, the trail-blazing founder of the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.

Dr Agrawal has been deeply committed to supporting rural development initiatives grounded in scientific methodology. Among others, he has helped mentor well-known development activists like Dunu Roy (IIT-Bombay,’67) of The Hazards Centre, New Delhi, Dr Ravi Chopra (IIT-Bombay,’68) of People’s Science Institute, Dehra Doon and Rajendra Singh, a Magsaysay awardee and founder of Tarun Bharat Sangh.

Born in a farming family in Kandhla (Muzaffarnagar district, U.P.) in 1932, he did his schooling locally and graduated in Civil Engineering from the University of Roorkee (now IIT-Roorkee).

He started his career as a Design Engineer in the Irrigation Department, Uttar Pradesh and later obtained a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He has dozens of scientific publications to his credit. Dr Agrawal is both deeply religious and rigorously scientific.

His passionate devotion to the River Ganga comes from his strong Hindu faith; his conviction that we are staring at an unprecedented ecological and cultural catastrophe comes from his powerfully logical mind. As a citizen and a patriot, he has made it his life’s mission to recall India to its glorious traditional reverence for nature and to share that wisdom with the “developed” world. His sense of his duty allows him to do no less.

Comments in the petition to the P.M.

I am State Coordinator for organising the National Children's Science Congress in all the districts of Uttar pradesh behalf of Science based Voluntary Organisation named VICAS-Voluntary Institute for Community Applied Science, HD - 86, ADA Colony Naini, District- Allahabad Uttar Pradesh-211008. We are agtree to save Bhagirathi River to save environment and eco system an associated with this movement. Government should stop the panning of construction of the dam for any purpose by imediate action. - Dr. Satyendra Kumar Singh
This is a noble effort for a noble cause. This must prompt the scientists and engineers of our nation to review their current knowledge base and approach towards the management of Himalayan rivers. As of now, the reductionism steeped in their knowledge base is precluding a comprehensive vision. This knowledge base is poor, weak, outdated and deficient to understand Himalayan rivers and their behavior holistically. As a consequence of application of such knowledge base, ecology, culture and livelihood is being destroyed. There must be a country-wide agitation to help & support this fight against social and ecological injustice and impel the government for an inclusive, comprehensive knowledge base and an open, reliable and accesible information on the Himalayan rivers, if we are responsible citizens of India. - Bidisha Kumar
The british eventhogh spoiled our culture, they are not spoiled our environment. Let this will be an eye opener to our representatives of our so called secular constitution.Government is doing business now. Instead of carrying welfare of nation, evey sector is exploited, Very recently the SEZ. making the farmer as farm labor. Why the Industrial Policy of the Goverment not identifying the waste land, dry lands for Industrial development. Why they want only agriculture lands. Today we are not interested to safeguard the interest of the farmer who gives us the ample food to us.. with out food and environment security, what is the value for the paper currency. Let us preserve our culture, rivers, our environment. - rajsekharan pillai, India
Another wilful blunder to dam the Ganges!! Please, Mr. Prime Minister, you know better and should stop this insanity. - Veena Talwar Oldenburg, U.S.A.
Already at several places the Ganga has mostly dried up or has been reduced to a nullah. I fully agree with the cause and commend Prof. Agarwal on his momentous and visionary decision. - Shirish Ranade, India
In the abiding interest of the survival of the human race and its struggle toward harmony with all the earth, my thoughts are with Prof. Agarwal, his family and his colleagues. I hope that his fast comes to a successful end along with the ending of the plans to dam the river Ganges. - Caitlin McAteer, US
Dear Prime Minister: Please do not disturb Mother GANGAji any more than has already been done. It hurts our sentiments. Besides, all scientific evidence points to the folly of the scheme. Thanks and Regards. - Abhijit Bhattacharyya, USA
Water and water ways are the focal point of human existence on the planet.We need to take care of them so that this dwindling reource continues to sustain our very existence. - Deepak & Neeta Agarwal
Water rights are part of fundamental basic human rights. We need a global solution for what is truely a more global problem. We can work togheter to help India come up with a viable soution for the greater good. - Elizabeth Peters, New York, USA
I am NRI and could feel and see the amount of awareness that ecological issues have in Canada. I can compare the amount of apathy Indians have toward this issue - Vivek Mishra, Canada
Construction of dams on all major rivers is not always good for the nation and this fact must be seriously considered. This is very relevant in the case of river GAnga, which is the lifeline of a major part of our society and the country, alike. It may be worth constructing smaller dams along the river so that not only the pupose is served, the river and its dependents are permitted to survive. I beleive that the construction of Dam on Ganga be stopped till a full reveiw of its impacts on our nantional and cultural heritage is properly studied. - Pramod Tyagi, India
I support the cause highlighted by Dr.G D Agarwal and vow to join him in his efforts if he is not heard. - Ashim Das, India
Environmental destruction such as this today is going to result in IRREVERSIBLE damage and huge catastrophies. We have to stop before its too late. - Nandita Shah, India
First time I found a person with the same thinking as me. - ANAS JAMAL, India
Water is life. The earlier we learn and uderstand the better for our generation next. - Bhismadev Mazoomdar, Dubai
Nature Foundation,Sangli, members support the satyagriha to save the rivers of India.Will join the satyagriha and fast for a day. - Nature Foundation,Sangli.
BHAGIRATHI and other tributaries of GANGA river should not be dammed ,diverted and distroyed. These are not just rivers; these are lifeline of India and cultural foundations of Sanatan Dharma which calls for amity with nature and well-being of all . SARVE BHAVANTU SUKHINAH. - Dr. Bharatendu Prakash
Lethal effects of intense irrigation has already surfaced.There are many success stories on the cultivation of rice with no water logging.Its better for the prime minister to open his eyes with a new vision and open ness to climate change consequences.We need to have complete moratorium on any hydro projects which are badly impacting the ecosystem - L.C.Nagaraj
I just completed my trip to Badrinath with my family and was pained to see these massive dam structures are being planned. I am sure after five years or so, our future generations may not be able to see the flowing of most sacred rivers be it Ganga, Bhagirathi, Manthagini or whatever. In the interest of environment and to maintain the sacredness, can't we stop this? - Rangarajan AL
We need to preserve holy river Ganga - while around the world there are so many initiatives to protect the environment we need to protect the lifeline of India. - Sanjay Saini
As one who has been a regular visitor to the region i cannot understand the naivety of the decision makers!!! How can one allow the murder of one of the last bastions of nature and its ecology. The damage to the environment will be incalculable. Further we are at a time in history where the global need of the hour is to support NATURE and to bring about a quantum shift in human perspective, so as to really understand the need to live in harmony with nature. This wayward scheme across the Bhagirthi already has so many implications which only the hill people know of. It does not take nature too long to recover from you ,what you took away from it. Divine Justice waiting to happen!! - is this what we want ?? - Sanjiv Malvi
Ganga is unlike other rivers, we call it GANGA Ji,it is like our mother,I fully support Dr.Agarwal's stand but fast unto death is a harsh step for insensitive administration - SHUBH KHORANA
Please stop this mindless destruction of a vital lifeline and source of livelihoods for millions along the course of this holy and mighty river that is much more than just a river. Best energy conservation practices and curbing T&D losses can free up several times the power that may be generated from these projects. - Parimala Rao
Inspite of repeated experiences with large dams that have proved disastrous both ecologically and also in terms of displacement of large sections of poor and marginalized, fresh attempts to construct more dams is very disturbing. Can we ever learn from the past and make better decisions today to have a decent future, I wonder! - Nirmala Tammineni
The government should explore alternatives large dams & hydrow power plants with the concomitant destruction to encosystem, plants, animals and various indigenous and tribal societies. - Hari Krishna Tadepalli, USA
Ganges’ is a sure way to kill ‘Bharat's spirit. Not only for environmental, ecological, cultural, historical, religious reasons do we support Professor G D Agrawal but for geographical reasons too!!! Imagine India with its majestic Himalayas destroyed with the Ganges. - DR. KSHAMA METRE
I have just travelled along the Bhagirathi around Gangotri and Tehri. What has been done to the river in Tehri will have consequences, as will the tunnels that are being built around Uttarkashi. It's astonishing that the government can't see the enormity of the dangers and continues to act myopically in the face of facts. The debate on large dams has to be re-opened. - Dr. Aseem Shrivastava
Dr.GDAgrawal's momentous decision is very significantt development , in the sense, that a very well-known and widely respected Scientist is taking this important and ultimate step(fast-unto-death) should open the eyes of the Govt of India and that of Uttarakhand. It should also lead to widespread opposition from other renowned scintists and others leading to effective public pressure on the Govts to not only stop the projects on the R.Bhagirathi but also lead to enlighted debate on the development model being adopted and persued aggressivelyby our Govts - S.R.Hiremath,Founder President, National Committee for the Protection of Natural Resources(NCPNR) & Exec Director, Samaj Parivartana Samudaya(SPS),Dharwad,Karnataka
Damn the Dam.Save the river. - GEETA PANICKER
Faith and science both demand that the Bhagirathi must flow unrestrained in its upper reaches. Other countries are decommissioning dams built on pristine rivers. Is nothing sacred anymore for us Indians? - Ravi Chopra

Tapasya - Late Prof. G.D.Agarwal's Struggle to teach India to take Himalayan eco-system seriously

Wednesday, May 21, 2008