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Journalism of Courage
When the first of the Narmada waters flowed into Kutch, it called for a celebration. A region known for scanty rain, it organised a Kutchotsava and thousands attended this welcome party. It even had chief minister Narendra Modi who told the audience: 8216;8216;I promise not to take away even a spoonful of water that rightfully belongs to you.8217;8217;
But the celebration was not without bitterness. The Congress, which boycotted Kutchotsava, is angry with the BJP for appropriating the project8217;s achievements and not giving credit to the former chief ministers in whose tenure the Sardar Sarovar Project progressed.
To begin with, the water brought through a pipeline from the Narmada Main Canal will meet drinking water requirement of only 70 of the 949 villages. But even that fact didn8217;t dampen the enthusiasm of the Kutchis.
On their way back home, the celebrating crowds siphoned off water from 12-feet high air valves fitted on top of concrete columns. They drenched themselves and drank as as much water as they could and carried it home in bottles. 8216;8216;Pani pehla, rotla na hoy to chale8217;8217; water is more important than food was how Premjibhai Patel, a resident of Vondh, one of the villages that was totally devastated by the quake, described the importance of water for Kutchis. Though he sported a saffron sash given by a BJP volunteer, the 37-year-old was not wearing his political affiliation on his sleeve. 8216;8216;I would have worn anything given for free, but we will use the Narmada water carefully,8217;8217; he said after the celebrations.
This rational thinking is born from a long association with adversity. Hardships and uncertainties are a way of life for Kutchis, the inhabitants of this second biggest district in the country. Spread over 45,652 sq kms, Kutch accounts for one fourth land in Gujarat, but its share of misfortunes is equally large.
Cyclones, earthquakes, salinity ingress, long dry spells8230; Kutch has seen it all. It8217;s difficult to believe that once the Indus flowed through the region and saw a mature Indus Valley civilization flourish on its banks. A massive earthquake in 1819 changed the course of the river, disrupting the region8217;s trade and economy. Nearly half of Kutch today is a vast stretch of sandy and barren desert. It has faced droughts in 37 out of the last 50 years.
Former speaker of the Gujarat Assembly Dhirubhai Shah said the pipeline and the water has restored Kutchis8217; faith in the Sardar Sarovar Scheme.
The former princely state has always nursed a grudge against Gujarat. After independence, the border district enjoyed the status of a centrally administered part 8216;C8217; State of the Union of India until it merged with the bilingual Bombay State in 1956. It ceased to enjoy that status after it merged with Gujarat in 1960 after bifurcation of the Bombay State. Kutch continues to hold a grudge against the government for depriving it of its assured share of the Narmada water for irrigation.
The Narmada project was designed with a canal head at a height of 320 feet to irrigate lakhs of hectares of arable land in Kutch. When the Gujarat government argued its case before the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal it pleaded for more water for irrigating Kutch. The Tribunal allotted 9 million acre feet water to Gujarat leaving distribution to the state government. The Kutchis accuse the government of reducing their share of water.
Kutch was promised water from the Indus in the 1950s but in the Indus treaty of 1960 the riparian rights were conceded to Pakistan. It was then promised water from the Indira Gandhi canal of Rajasthan but the project also disappeared. Given this background, water is precious here.
The government plans to cover nearly 300 villages by June and more than 600 by the year end. Says secretary of Narmada Swagat Samiti-which was formed to celebrate the arrival of Narmada waters Arun Vachharjani: 8216;8216;It would stop exploitation of water and recharge wells besides giving a boost to development.8217;8217;
Meanwhile, Kutch is enjoying its share of water.
