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Journalism of Courage
For years, the idea of linking rivers has had a sci-fi quality to it 8212; one that is constantly dismissed as being too expensive and politically fraught to work. Yet the Ken-Betwa river linking pact, which was inked on Thursday, flies in the face of familiar fears.
Here we have two states perpetually short on water enter into a linking arrangement by which the surplus waters of the Ken basin will be transferred to the etiolated Betwa river through means of a channel and a dam. And, surprise, surprise, the two states are ruled by political parties that have been fierce rivals for power. Which only goes to show that the BSP 8212; bijli, sadak, pani 8212; mantra can get old political war horses to drink by the same riverside. Also please note how the UPA government is promoting the river linking idea, which had come to be perceived as an NDA initiative. The prime minister himself iterated in Parliament that his government will work toward linking national rivers. What if Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur saw the Ken-Betwa pact as one that 8220;fulfilled Atal Bihari Vajpayee8217;s dream8221;, while the Union minister for Water Resources Development, P.R. Dasmunshi described it it as having 8220;fulfilled the dream of former irrigation minister, K.L. Rao8221;? Ultimately, nobody should have a monopoly on a good idea, especially if it benefits the entire nation.
