This published article was sent to me and I reproducing it here on my blog and hope the author has no objections. It’s a very very insightful and important read.<\/p>\n
Punjab: A DYING CIVILISATION? About two years ago my friend the famous singer Rabbi Shergill in one of his Rabbi concluded his article by saying ‘Sindh ghaatti aj fir maran nu tyaar This was our third visit to a river or drain area to educate ourselves on The entire picture is extremely frightening<\/strong>. There has been a lot of debate It is a life and death question for Punjab; it is clearly evident that ‘Villages up for sale’<\/strong> are a unique symbol of distress and devastation in <\/p>\n It was a first-of-its- kind protest in India at that time. In March There are several indicators to confirm what Dr Amar Singh Azad said about The symptoms are: severe, multiple environmental toxicity, drinking water Disturbingly, the same pattern of health problems is being found in domestic I often say in Punjabi that Punjab is fast turning into Be-aab and Punjabis As there is no water left in two upper aquifers – at 70 feet and 150 feet Now villagers are forced to draw water from third aquifer to be found at the Farmers are able to grow wheat and paddy but with this hard water, The average wheat yield dropped drastically in the last few years in all Loss of agro-biodiversity is another issue of concern. It was found that in Farmers reported that all these crops were grown without any chemical inputs This has also eroded traditional knowledge system of farming in this area. When asked about debt situation, Harvinder Singh, Youth Club President of This situation is reminiscent of my earlier experience in Mirzapur Sandharsi The most painful experience we have had in this tour is that of the murder In village Phoolad, which is just 300 meters from Ghaghar we got to know “Fish from Ghagar used to be quite famous once upon a time; people used to In adjoining Chandu village, all households used to irrigate their farms The entire belt of villages on the bank of Ghaghar in Sangrur district was “In those days, several species of birds were found; now we hardly see even In every village we had also enquired about existence of honeybees and Like earthworms and honeybees several other insects were thrown out of web In spite of floods every year, Ghaghar was generous with life and Punjab is going to be a state of sick people highly dependent on medicines”, As Dr Azad often says, “The whole ecosystem of the earth is interwoven in a In each village we visited, people reeled out high numbers of cancer deaths Skin diseases are also very common in all villages; Dr Azad points out that This starkly visible disease pattern can be correlated to the toxicity load Poisoning of ecology has a deep impact on animal health as well. The status When the villages had pasture lands, the animals used to give more milk, But question is – who is responsible for this ecological destruction? How The answer is very simple – our Development model obsessed with high GDP. Moreover , After confirmation of presence of uranium traces in hair samples My friend and the person who is carving my understanding on ecological I am waiting for an answer…the 63-year old young revolutionary Dr Azad is (Author is Executive Director of Kheti Virasat Mission; a Jaitu based a Umendra Dutt, Executive Director, Kheti Virasat Mission<\/p>\n KHETI VIRASAT MISSION<\/p>\n JAITU,District- FARIDKOT- 151202<\/p>\n PUNJAB<\/p>\n Phone:01635 – 503415, Mobile -9872682161<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This published article was sent to me and I reproducing it here on my blog and hope the author has no objections. It’s a very very insightful and important read. Punjab: A DYING CIVILISATION? The repeat of devastation of Sindhu Valley Civilization By Umendra Dutt About two years ago my friend the famous singer Rabbi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paani"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n<\/strong>
\nThe repeat of devastation of Sindhu Valley Civilization
\n<\/strong>
\nBy Umendra Dutt<\/p>\n
\nPunjabi article says “There is no doubt that it was just because of a major
\nenvironmental change that the great civilization of Indus valley had
\ncompletely vanished. The same reasons, in the same form are today existed
\nbefore us. The only difference between the both situations is this that in
\nthose times it was a natural disaster but this time it is of man made”.<\/strong>
\nRabbi equated present situation of Punjab with Sindh valley which destroyed
\nbecause of water scarcity.<\/p>\n
\nhai’ which means Sindh valley is again prepared to die “Will this really
\nhappen?” I asked my co-passengers “Of course, it is a degrading environment
\nand a dying civilization in Punjab; a whole community has been put to slow
\ndeath” affirmed Dr Amar Singh Azad, my senior colleague in Kheti Virasat
\nMission. “It is a crime committed against humanity and nature by our own
\ngovernments, that too in the name of Development”, I said, endorsing his
\nobservation. All of us were very upset and angry after visiting villages
\nnear Dhakansu drain and Ghaghar River in Patiala and Sangrur districts.<\/p>\n
\nenvironmental toxicity and its multiple impacts. About eight years ago, I
\ndid a padayatra along the Jayanti River in Ropar district. I found several
\nsimilarities between the disappearance of Jayanti and Ghaghar rivers. Both
\nrivers have lost their relevance after society forgot and neglected the
\nsignificance of these rivers.<\/strong> The river eco-system was ruined at both places
\nby the developmental activities carried out by “modern society”. Our latest
\nYatra was a field visit to learn more on the crisis of water, environmental
\ntoxicity, condition of agriculture, biodiversity, the unfolding health
\ncrisis and the socio- economic fallout of this ecological disaster.<\/p>\n
\non the severe health and water tragedy apparent in the districts of Malwa
\nregion. But we should correct our view point – it is the whole of Punjab
\nthat seems to be under deadly devastation now. Some of our well-wishers ask
\nus again and again that – “Why are you activists bent on such
\nscare-mongering around these things?” I would like to repeat the words of Dr
\nAzad here – “Yes, we want to create a scare, because the situation is far
\nmore destructive and scary than our government and people can ever imagine.<\/p>\n
\nPunjab is a dying civilization. <\/strong>Several people may find this offending, ugly
\nand uncalled for. However, the indications that we are getting from across
\nPunjab point to a death sentence written for the whole eco-system in this
\npart of the country and particularly for this brave community.<\/p>\n
\nPunjab …..<\/p>\n
\n2002, Harkishanpura of Bathinda district put itself up for sale and then Mal
\nSingh Wala of Mansa district followed in 2005. Both of these villages are
\nsituated in cotton belt of Malwa. Both have a common reason — the Water
\ncrisis. It was a desperate step that was taken by the villagers. Now, this
\nwater distress has engulfed the villages of the apparently ‘eco-prosperous’
\narea of Puadh. A village in Patiala district near Chandigarh – Mirzapur
\nSandharsi is contemplating putting itself up for sale. The reason is the
\nsame “waterlessness” that has now become a nightmare for this village too.
\nAfter reading reports in the media, we visited this village – what was
\nbluntly visible and extremely disturbing to find is that Punjab is fast
\nturning into a waterless region. It can be Harkishanpura, Mandi Khurd or
\nMalSingh Wala or Teja Rohella, Dona Nanka near Fazilka or Mirzapur Sandharsi
\n– villages after villages are caught in the grip of a severe water crisis.<\/p>\n
\nPunjab being a dying civilization. The disturbing symptoms of this slow
\ndeath are common, in a journey from Mirzapur Sandharsi, Harpalpur to Shahpur
\nTheri and Makrod Sahib in Sangrur. I wondered how accurate is forecast made
\nby Rabbi Shergill.<\/p>\n
\ncrisis due to drying-up of upper aquifers and rapid deterioration of the
\ngroundwater situation all over the state, water quality going drastically
\ndown with multiple kinds of contamination, destruction of river eco-systems
\nand vanishing aquatic life, loss of biodiversity and crop diversity,
\nincreasing health problems particularly those related to reproductive
\nhealth, declining immune capacity, early ageing and cancers etc.<\/p>\n
\nanimals: farmers repeatedly reported that animals are unable to conceive and
\nif they conceive they abort frequently. Further, the all-round crisis is
\nalso reflecting itself in agriculture and agricultural livelihoods: falling
\nagriculture productivity, increase in external inputs and rising debts,
\ngrowing disconnect between farmer and his\/her land, farmers selling their
\nfarms and lastly, emergence of loss of self- confidence and self-esteem
\namongst the affected people to tackle the situation.<\/p>\n
\nof Be-aab Punjab are bound to become Be-abaad (displaced). I find that
\nMirzapur Sandharsi and nearby villages are an apt illustration for this
\nidiom. Surinder Singh, Sarpanch of Mirzapur Sandharsi told us, “There is no
\nproper water; this water crisis has forced us to sell our land. We are ready
\nto sell even our village”.<\/p>\n
\nrespectively – villagers are facing a lot of hardship to meet even basic
\nrequirement of water. Around ten years back, the 70-feet aquifer began to go
\ndry and about five years ago, water started disappearing from the 150-feet
\naquifer also. “We are forced to increase the lowering by 12 to 20 feet every
\nyear”; told Harbans Singh, Chairman of village Cooperative Society. “When
\nGhaghar was alive about 20 year back, there was no such problem. As Ghaghar
\ndied slowly, this water crisis engulfed our area”.<\/p>\n
\ndepth of about 400 feet, but unfortunately at many places this aquifer is
\nhaving water unfit to even irrigate their farms, so it is of little use.
\nEven if it is fit for irrigation, it is very costly to draw it and more over
\nhow long will it last. After all it is ‘Fossil Water’. It is going to be
\nexhausted. What after that? No body is able to answer.<\/p>\n
\nvegetables cannot be grown. It’s very difficult to find anyone growing
\nvegetables from last ten years in the village. “We forgot the taste of our
\nown grown vegetables”, said a farmer. This is a common trend in all villages
\nof this area where purchasing vegetables from cities is common. Earlier,
\nfarmers here used to grow several kinds of vegetables for sale in the market
\nas well as self-consumption. Now, they don’t cultivate vegetables in several
\nvillages of Ghannour area of Patiala district. Farmers from Harpalpur gave a
\nmore pitiable picture: “Earlier we use to sell our vegetables in Rajpura and
\nChandigarh markets; now, because the water quality has deteriorated, we are
\nnot able to cultivate vegetables anymore. Farmers will tell you the same
\nstory in villages like Shahpur Theri, Mandavi, Chandu, Makorad Sahib and
\nFoold. Everywhere, farmers have turned into buyers of vegetables from being
\nproducers. This is sign of loss of household food and nutritional security.
\nThis has also put an economic burden on them”.<\/p>\n
\nvillages we visited. Farmers reported getting yields as low as 5 quintals
\nper acre of wheat. ‘As groundwater is going deeper and deeper, it is also
\nlosing its quality. This affects crops and their yields often.’ It is a
\ncommon perception of farmers from different villages. This has another
\nimpact -manifold increase in usage of chemical fertilizers, making
\nagriculture more expensive now. All of this makes the farm economics
\nunviable, with farmers becoming more indebted. Almost all the agricultural
\nland here is mortgaged! “We were happy and prosperous those days, using
\nGhaghar water and getting higher yields in comparison to today. We used to
\ngrow Basmati about 15- 20 years back with very less water from Ghaghar and
\nused to obtain 16 to 20 quintals per acre, 14 to 16 quintals of wheat and
\neven 10 to 12 quintals of pulses. We had these results without using any
\nUrea in our fields.” said Gyani Subeg Singh, a 70-year old farmer from
\nvillage Shahpur Their.<\/p>\n
\nthe last 20 years, there has been a drastic loss in agro-biodiversity.
\nEarlier, most of farmers used to grow pulses. Slowly, as yields started
\ndeclining, they stopped producing pulses. It was found that earlier,
\ndiversity-based farming was the main approach. Farmers grew Corn, Basmati,
\nCotton, Sugarcane, Wheat, Mustard, Pearl Millet, Barley, Pigeonpea, Moong,
\nMasar, Moth, Alsi, Til, Tara-Mira, Gwara, Arhar and Chilies.<\/p>\n
\nsimply by irrigating their farms with Ghaghar water. But as Ghaghar has gone
\ndry, the biodiverse farming system which flourished here for hundred of
\nyears also dried up. Farmers’ real wealth – water and soil – was plundered.<\/p>\n
\nNow farmers are using high amount of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and
\nweedicides. They are now so obsessed with chemical farming that they lost
\nself confidence. “We cannot grow any thing without chemicals. We know it is
\npoison – but we have no other alternative” said Jaswant Singh of Shahpur
\nTheri, while preparing to apply chemical fertilizers in his farm.<\/p>\n
\nShahpur Theri says with grief, “Death of Ghaghar has destroyed both our
\nwealth and health. Now, the entire village is under debt. Not a single acre
\nof land is free from loan. Several farmers were forced to sell their farm
\nland. About 35 to 40 people sold their entire property and shifted out of
\nthe village. Several farmers are now working as landless laborers”.<\/p>\n
\nand Harpalpur. In these villages, a large number of farmers had already sold
\ntheir land. When I asked farmers at Harpalpur in Patiala what they thought
\nof Mirzapur Sandharsi villagers putting up their village for sale, more than
\nthree farmers replied at once in a collective voice – “We are also ready to
\nsell our village.” Then one farmer added “Why talk about only these two
\nvillages – the whole belt of around 40 villages is up for sale though we are
\nnot declaring it openly. But if we get a chance, we are all ready to quit
\nagriculture and move out of here”. Everyone sitting there supported his
\nviews. These farmers no more feel any attachment to their village. Sadly,
\nthe cord of affinity with their land no longer exists.<\/p>\n
\nof a river and her bounties. It was the case of entire society breaking away
\nfrom its water heritage.<\/strong> Everybody whom we met during our visit told us –
\n“Once Ghaghar River used to be full of life and we used to drink Ghaghar
\nwater about 20 years back – it used to be clear, sweet and tasty”. Vaid
\nPiyara Singh (55) of Makrodr Sahib said with unshed tears in his eyes:
\n“Ghaghar was clean and the whole village used to drink its water; I used to
\ndrink Ghaghar water almost every day while returning from fields – I never
\nexperienced any problem with that – that was about 20 years back”.<\/p>\n
\nthat except two young men, all the persons sitting in front of us had once
\nbeen able to drink directly from the river.<\/p>\n
\ncome from far away to purchase fish here. Thousands of fish of different
\nspecies, small and big tortoises and so on used to be present in large
\nnumbers in Ghaghar. Ghaghar died right in front of our eyes”, said Kulwant
\nSingh (52) of Makrodr Sahib with visible grief on his face.<\/p>\n
\nfrom Ghaghar water, but now they are forced to look for other options.
\n“Earlier our animals would go there for grazing, bathing and drinking
\nGhaghar water, but now we cannot even think of it. It is acid only.” said
\nVaid Subhash (37).<\/p>\n
\nusing Ghaghar water not only for irrigation but also for domestic usage.
\nSome people also pointed out that the river bed had several springs like
\nNadiya Taal from where they got water throughout the year. There were large
\nnumbers of Dhaak and Dhaki trees, Jand, Kiker, and bushes of Duaansa. This
\nindicates that along with destruction of Ghaghar the native plants and trees
\nalso got ruined.<\/p>\n
\ncommon birds like the crow or the sparrow. They are all gone”. We heard this
\nalmost everywhere that we went. Many report that the number of birds in this
\narea has gone down. Dr Azad kept muttering that this is our Silent Spring
\nunfolding in Punjab. I am speechless since the picture emerging in front of
\nus was a hopeless picture of doom.<\/p>\n
\nearthworms and unfortunately got the similar answer indicating more vast
\ndestruction of life – ‘Now honeybees and earthworms are almost gone, we
\nhardly see any hive around our villages’ villagers told us. Every time when
\nwe got negative answer about presence of honeybees, Dr Azad reminds me
\nfamous prediction of Albert Einstein, “If the bee disappears from the
\nsurface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.”<\/p>\n
\nof life. And the younger generation of farmers even does not know the names
\nof several friendly-insects.<\/p>\n
\nprosperity. Now it appears that hell is flowing here and villagers are
\nforced to live with the situation. They reported that Ghaghar got polluted
\nsome years back with toxic effluents from a factory at Main near Patiala and
\nChambowali drain which joins Ghaghar at Chandu village. The water is black,
\nwith bad smell and with no life at all. The water, if touched, produces
\nirritation, itching and skin rashes, it was explained. We do not even dare
\nto touch it where we used to earlier be able to drink the water, they said.<\/p>\n
\nDr Azad keeps saying again and again. His words were reinforced during this
\ntour as we had personally witnessed a massive health crisis all around. What
\nwe have witnessed during this study visit has reaffirmed our earlier
\nhypothesis that Punjab is being subjected to multiple environmental
\ntoxicity. Every village we had visited illustrates the same tragedy.<\/p>\n
\nweb of highly sensitive and complex interdependence; any toxin in the
\nenvironment – air, water and soil – affects all forms of life right from the
\nmicrobes to human beings. Wherever toxicity is high, humans, cattle, wild
\nanimals, other living forms including microbes and plants are gravely
\naffected. Punjab today is witnessing the whole spectrum of ill effects on
\nhuman health shown through various studies, of such contamination. The
\nimmunity of Punjabis is being ruthlessly damaged”.<\/p>\n
\nin addition to a long list of cancer patients under medication. What we got
\nfrom villagers is shocking data regarding cancers, raising infertility and
\nother reproductive health disorders, increasing number of neurological
\ndisorders, allergies and impaired immunity. As farmers gave this information
\nto us while sitting in front of us by recalling names, the possibility of
\nerrors must certainly be there; however, this is an indicator that cancer is
\non the rise while reproductive health is deteriorating fast, that too in all
\nparts of Punjab. We found quite a large number of issueless couples, cases
\nof miscarriages, spontaneous abortions and premature deliveries; in each
\nvillage, we also found cases of neurological disorders Children with mental
\nretardation and congenital abnormalities, cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD, ADD,
\nlearning and behavioral disabilities and so on were identified. It is hard
\nto believe that the list of illnesses is much longer then we thought.<\/p>\n
\nthis is a sign of impaired immune system in people of Punjab. We also found
\nlarge number of patients with kidney problems, stones in kidney and gall
\nbladder, digestive system disorders etc.<\/p>\n
\ncaused by environmental toxicity and prevalence of toxins in our eco-system
\nand food chain. During group discussions, it was also noticed that number of
\nyoung deaths in last ten years is on the rise. Though it may be because of
\nother reasons too, a young death is an indicator that something is seriously
\nwrong in Punjab.<\/p>\n
\nof animal health in these parts seems to indicate that the toxicity
\neverywhere has reached its threshold level. People reported that apart from
\nhuman beings, cows and buffalos are also losing reproduction capacity. They
\nobserve lesser lactation period and lesser reproduction cycles. It has come
\ndown to 5 from 15 reproduction cycles. More and more cows and buffalos are
\nbecoming sterile. These animals are unable to conceive and miscarriages and
\nabortions are increasing amongst these animals. At least 70% animals have
\nbecome unproductive and sterile, people reported. Their milk productivity is
\nalso going down. Moreover, even horses are reported to be getting sterile.
\nSome farmers observe that desi hens are not able to lay eggs properly.<\/p>\n
\nthey recall; now, the animals are falling sick and dying. These animals
\ncannot go to Ghagar now and farmers have to run pumps for water, which adds
\nto the financial burden of the families. “We are ruined due to the poisonous
\nwater that was allowed to flow in Ghaghar”, they say.<\/p>\n
\nare we going to restore justice to river Ghaghar, her inhabitants and
\nNature? Who is to be blamed for subjecting this whole area to this severe
\nenvironmental health crisis? What has killed River Ghaghar and its thousands
\nof animals, fishes, tortoises, birds and other creatures?<\/p>\n
\nThe factories of liquor and wine at Banaur, Patiala and Patran have
\ncontributed to the death of Ghaghar. The owners of these factories, their
\nmanagement, the government departments which gave clearances for the
\nestablishment and running of these factories, the officers with whose
\nsignatures these factories came into existence, the Punjab Pollution Control
\nBoard which is primarily responsible for monitoring and controlling
\npollution and effluents, the Revenue department and Directorate of excise
\nand taxes, the Finance Ministry of Punjab which is filling its pockets from
\ntaxes on these factories thus giving them a legal status and lastly, the
\npeople who remain silent and indifferent during this demolition are
\nresponsible for the death of a river and her ecosystem, the destruction of
\nhealth and environment here and for the displacement of farmers. These are
\nenvironmental criminals who need to be held liable. Punjab needs a people’s
\nmovement to take up the issue of life of our rivers and to keep alive
\nPunjabi civilization. By giving a rousing call to the public, Sant Balbir
\nSingh Seenchewal has already taken an initiative in this direction. But we
\nhave still a long way to go.<\/p>\n
\nof children from Baba Farid Centre for Special Children and water and soil
\nsamples it is certain that Punjab is in midst of multiple environmental
\ntoxicity. This is an indicator that it is situation of extreme emergency in
\nPunjab. Let us start talking the political ecology. Let people start
\nthinking politically to punish the environmental culprits of Punjab. We have
\nto evolve newer ways to punish those who are responsible for this
\ndevastation. Though, I also found that I was also one of the culprits, even
\nseveral of us those who are now fighting for environment were not behaved in
\nresponsible manner earlier, otherwise situation would have been different. I
\nfeel we are also blameworthy and I am firm that all those who are guilty
\nmust be punished<\/p>\n
\nissues, Prof. Shubh Prem Brar from Bathinda has rightly said, “Southern
\nPunjab is surrounded by toxic water ways. It is as though a garland of
\npoisonous water is encircling a large area of Punjab”. If you see the map of
\nPunjab, you can see the absolutely terrifying picture of poisonous water
\nencircling entire south, south-eastern and south-western region of Punjab. I
\nask further – Is it possible to change this death wreath into a life jacket?
\nCan we stop our civilization from dying?<\/p>\n
\nequally eager to know this answer, as he constantly says “Punjab is a dying
\ncivilization and time is running out of our hands.” None of us want Punjab
\nto die, do we?<\/p>\n
\ncivil society ecological action group working on natural farming and
\nenvironmental health. Contacts: Phones: 09872682161)<\/p>\n