India Today – August 13, 2018

EXTENSIVE ROAD

CONSTRUCTION

HAS ALTERED

NATURAL FLOW IN

THE REGION

GANDHINAGAR

18 INDIA TODAY AUGUST 13, 2018

STATES

O

n July 25, a court in Mehsana
handed Hardik Patel and two
others a two-year jail sentence in
a 2015 case where they were ac-
cused of indulging in public violence in Vis-
nagar town. Rendered somewhat irrelevant
after the temporary euphoria of last year’s
state assembly polls, the Patel reservation
leader is suddenly back in the news.
Out on bail in a few short hours, Hardik
was quick to milk the opportunity and laid
the blame on the ruling BJP. “This is noth-
ing but Hitlershahi. Is it a crime to fight
for the rights of the farmers, students and

youth? The BJP won’t succeed in stopping

my fight for justice,” he said.

The Gujarat BJP, having learnt some

hard lessons from earlier encounters with

the Patidar leader, responded with caution.

Senior leaders refrained from making any

provocative statements. Party spokesperson

Bharat Pandya said, “It is a court judg-

ment. How can the BJP be held respon-

sible? Gujarat is identified with peace and

non-violence. I appeal to people to see the

judgment in that spirit and not indulge in

provocative acts.”

Earlier, BJP politicians had reacted by

supply and sanitation schemes in the

villages, the package was scrapped in

2013. Much of the work to deepen and
      widen the canals to ensure a free flow
      of flood waters remained incomplete.
      Former CPI(M) legislator C.K.
      Sadasivan says it was an ‘ill-conceived’
      package that now spells doom for Kut-
      tanad. According to him, high tides
      in the Arabian Sea are blocking the
      outflow of floodwaters from Kuttanad.
      But the situation is really compounded
      by an extensive construction of roads,
      which has altered the natural flow of
      water in the area.
      The Kuttanad package was

meant to cover 1,439 paddy fields

across 104 villages in the Kottayam,

Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha

districts. However, detailed project

reports (DPRs) were prepared for just

254 paddy fields, and work was par-

tially implemented only in 48.

K.G. Padmakumar, director of the

International Research and Training

Centre for Below Sea-Level Farming at

Thottapally, agrees that the flooding is

a consequence of the shoddy imple-

mentation of the package. Warning

that Kuttanad’s unique ecology may be

in danger, the scientist recommends

corrective measures, including bio

fencing and the construction of tempo-

rary bunds.

In the wake of the calamitous

flood, Kerala’s Left Front government

is now considering the completion of

unfinished projects envisaged in the

Kuttanad package. n

By Uday Mahurkar

GUJARAT

PATEL

RAPPED

A jail sentence may affect Hardik

Patel’s standing in the state

LASSOED

File photo of Hardik at a

reception in Bhopal

MUJEEB FARUQUI/GETTY IMAGES