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Breaking down the Dam


Breaking down the Dam


The Prelude

“I sign this with the blood of my heart” said a king in 1886. The event kick started construction of a dam across one of the biggest rivers in a princely state of British India. It is still unclear if the concept of blood was a way he used to represent the brotherhood of sharing water between the states; or if it was a way to vent his frustration of signing a 999 year treaty for a dam that would have an estimated life time of hardly around 50 years. Thinking of the wisdom and foresightedness of the earlier Kings, it would be more appropriate to believe in the later. It is ironical that 84 years down the line the very same treaty was tuned up by a political party that finds respect in symbolizing the colour of blood. The tuning up led to further bonding the brotherhood between the states where one agreed to pay more to the other for a consent to produce power with the water that was already irrigating 68558 ha of land. A win-win situation for sure.

The Loss in Winning

There are quite a few things that would surely question the intellect of one who has the time and capability to see beyond the media extravaganza and think for his own. In the first place how could someone sign a treaty of 999 years for something that would have an estimated life of just around 50 years? Some might point towards the peculiarities of the era in which the pact was signed and might find comfort in putting the blame on the British. It is funny that we always find some kind of comfort in repeating this at every chance. Even over 60 years post independence!

Even if you were to agree to the British angle of things, what really went through the minds of those who reworked the treaty in the early 1970's? Why did they fail to foresee the events in the near future and modify the pact accordingly? More importantly what was the logic in one state being given the control of a dam built in another!

These are questions that would disturb the common man's thoughts. There might surely be answers. But they would surely be complicated and not in lines with the common man's simple logic.

Managing a Catastrophe

Kerala is the only State to have constituted something like a Dam Safety Authority. Higher up we have the Central Water Commission. There is an empowered committee appointed as per directions from the Supreme Court. We have numerous agencies and systems both judicial and bureaucratic. There are various national and international level agencies. There is more than required experience and capability available in the areas of safety evaluation and crisis management. We have technologies available to scan the terrain, run simulations and implement effective and efficient emergency management plans.

In the present era where India is planning to put a man on the moon, it seems quite odd that such a situation is promoted through clippings of ministers scraping off portions of the Dam and crying out about its safety. Should we not be dealing with such situations using more authoritative technological capabilities? Should we not be seeing concrete and authoritative evidence of safety concerns (if there are any!). Shouldn’t the media find some more entertainment value in reassuring the common man with fool proof emergency response systems being implemented by the Government (if there are any!). The fact that they have decided to fill the entertainment space with clippings of rage, protests, hunger strikes and all sorts of gimmicks is really a fact of concern.

Back in Future

It is certain that either the Government or Time would eventually bring down the dam. How both states would manage the future is uncertain. But that might not really be an issue. How future ready have they been in history is questionable to a certain extent.

Another certainty is that the common man would anyhow continue to keep to himself the commonness in his future days. Who ever brings down the dam in future, there would surely be certain questions left unanswered. There would still be some cries of distress, sorrow, anger and there would also be more gimmicks to come. We can only wish that this time, 'blood' does not get a role to play!

And then, the last laugh should be by those who encapsulate all these into the 'entertainment' space!

The Present

The way in which such socially, politically and humanely sensitive situations are handled is distressing. Its concerning. And its real.

The fact that India is still 'shining' is even more surprising! And that rekindles the one thing that leads life ahead – Hope!

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