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Sunday, July 7, 2013

Kannada Prabha, Bangalore. My column on Uttarakhand and the hands that saved thousnads


2 comments:

Tarun said...

This is a battle between traditional Indian respect for mother nature and the forces of greed:

ActionAid said Uttarakhand courted disaster through rapid construction and aggressive construction work along river banks. The construction of more than 245 hydroelectric dams and mining projects along the 14 river valleys in the state within the last decade has posed an enormous ecological threat, it said in a statement.

Rivers have been diverted, hills blasted and forests destroyed, causing large-scale soil erosion and landslides. Debris from the construction has raised water levels, which contributed to flash flooding,” it said.

Debabrat Patra, Uttarakhand regional manager for ActionAid’s India office, said diversion of water had affected villages as hillside farms have dried up and trees have stopped bearing fruit.

Tarun said...

How Hindutva lost its stronghold in coastal Karnataka
Just like in UP, using the backward castes with emotive issues only serves the party politically for a limited time. Eventually, bread-and-butter issues take over. A very important lesson.