River goes missing in Ranchi
CONCRETE JUNGLE Haphazard development converts Karam River into a drain, shrinking it
A river has been lost in Ranchi. Till 2004, the Karam River existed and flew on its natural path.
Thirteen years hence, there is virtually no trace of the river that originated from a pond called Karam Talaab in Morhabadi, which is a perennial underground source that never dries up. The river then flew into the famous Distillery Pond—it’s a small dam in Kokar and eventually merged into the Subarnarekha River.
Massive urbanisation, haphazard development and reckless encroachment of its bed over the last decade took away the river’s existence. Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC), the civic body entrusted with the responsibility of preserving the water bodies and town planning in the capital city, turned a blind eye as people continued to encroach the river’s path.
As the river shrunk and turned into a drain, the state urban development department last year hit the last nail into the river’s coffin by cementing the distillery pond in the name of beautification and began construction of concrete drains on its sides.
Crores of tax payers’ money was pumped to stifle the river and a pond. The impact has already started to show.
Wells and tubewells around the once natural pond and along the river’s bank that welled with water all through the year are now drying up. The water body is now a concrete colony.
Taking serious umbrage to the misuse of tax payers’ money to ‘kill’ a river and the pond, Empower Jharkhand (EJ), a social organisation, knocked the court’s door seeking stay on their concretisation. EJ president, Aditya V Jaiswal, said he would also knock the doors of National Green Tribunal to get the river and natural pond back.
But this has not stopped the urban development department.
People’s angst has started bursting. They are submitting petitions to RMC to stop the development work on the river bed. RMC authority seems divided on the issue.
While a section of officials led by mayor Rama Khalko is in favour of stopping all concrete work, deputy mayor, Sanjiv Vijayvirghiya, a BJP leader, feels the other way.
“I am for the people who want the pond to remain and encroachments removed. I am doing my best to ensure people’s wish on this issue fulfilled,” the mayor said. The deputy mayor argues that whoever was creating hurdles in the beautification was anti-development.
“It’s strange that in the name of development, the government has choked a river by first allowing people to settle on its natural path and then raising concrete structures on the pond where the river water flowed and stayed charging the underground water,” said reputed geologist and environmentalist, Nitish Priyadarshi.
He cautioned, during heavy rains, the river water will look for its course. “And if it fails to find its natural path, the water will gush into those homes that come up on its course,” he said.
The distillery pond has a long history. In 1901, the up lands of Ranchi’s east witnessed a major drought.
The wells dried up. Local liquor baron Thakur Das came forward and constructed a check dam on the Karam River near Kokar for his distillery.
Soon the river water accumulated and took shape of pond. The dam had sluice gates.
Today neither the river exists nor the pond and the dam.
“A quantum jump in economic relations can be seen between India and Germany and an outcome-oriented momentum can be seen building,” he said.
“At the last IGC in New Delhi, we had set up a fast-track system for German companies to invest in India and that has shown very good results, especially the Mittlestand (medium enterprises) companies,” Modi told reporters.
Germany also backed India’s bid for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
On Monday, Merkel had underlined her doubts about the reliability of the US as an ally.
US President Donald Trump responded by tweeting on Tuesday: “We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change.”
Last week Trump had criticised major NATO allies over their military spending and ruffled feathers by refusing to endorse a global climate change accord.Merkel praised India for implementing the climate pact very “intensively and in a very committed way” and Modi said people had no right to ruin the environment for future generations.