Jhansi: In 2014, Uma Bharti, then MP from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh and Union minister for water resources and Ganga rejuvenation in the newly formed Narendra Modi government, reportedly said during an address in her constituency, “We have implemented the plan of adopting a village under PM Narendra Modi’s Sansad Gram Yojana, but in order to improve the condition of rivers, every parliamentarian of the country should also adopt a river in their area.”
Taking the initiative, Bharti was the first to adopt the Pahuj river running through her parliamentary constituency and take a pledge to clean it, restore it to its original form and preserve it. In addition, she proposed to devise a special action plan for cleaning the river.
Pahuj is believed to be the river known as Pushpavati in ancient times, which flows for 200 km from Baidora village located near Jhansi to ultimately merge into Kali Sindh in Jalaun district. Bharti expressed her wish to restore the river to the original form of Pushpavati.
But presently, the river does not even have enough water to cry over its own misfortunes. The river surface is covered with hyacinths and there is hardly a drop of water in sight. Surveying the river at various places reveals the same pathetic condition everywhere. Instead of a river, it looks like a meadow carpeted with grass.
At the mouth of the river, a number of houses and colonies have mushroomed. Local journalists and residents allege that the illegal encroachment in the submergence area of the river has been carried out at the behest of the administration, which has turned the river into a drain at several places.
A team of The Wire visited the Pahuj Ghat along the Jhansi-Shivpuri highway – a ghat on whose construction Bharti had spent her MP’s fund, nearly four years after adopting the river.
The river bank is in dire straits with heaps of garbage all around and broken infrastructure due to lack of maintenance. The land adjacent to the bank is covered with deep pits laden with garbage. The condition of the river is the same here as well – enveloped in hyacinths and looking like a lush pasture around which walls and buildings have been erected.
The river passes through different areas of the district but the situation is more or less similar everywhere. There is hardly a patch of the river without concrete construction along its length or water hyacinths over it.
Bundelkhand Nirman Morcha president Bhanu Sahay told The Wire that when Bharti adopted the Pahuj, locals were optimistic that the river’s condition would improve, because Bharti was already in charge of cleaning a major river like the Ganga.
“The condition of the river was not this grim when she adopted it,” added Sahay. “But now, Pahuj has become a river of dead water, which can neither be consumed nor used in agriculture. At the river ghats, the water smells awfully bad. The Pahuj also flows into the Unnao Balaji pond. It was earlier believed that bathing in the pond could cure skin diseases. But today its water has turned dark and murky. Though devotees still bathe in the pond, they contract infectious skin diseases instead.”
A plaque at a Pahuj ghat. Photo: Deepak Goswami
According to Sanjay Singh, national convener of the ‘Jal Jodo Jan Jodo’ campaign, the Pahuj river is a rain-fed seasonal river. Due to its large watershed area and water storage area, the river carries a lot of water in the rainy season. Two dams have been erected on the river – one built by the British and another constructed recently.
“It is pertinent for any river to maintain a constant flow,” explained Singh. “But in the case of Pahuj, the dam releases less water into the river, thereby obstructing the flow. As a result, the river water becomes stagnant, leading to the rampant growth of hyacinths.”
“The most formidable challenge to Pahuj is the large-scale encroachment in its floodplain,” Singh added. “So many concrete structures have come up that all the springs and seepages on either side of the river have been cut off. As a result, an existential crisis looms over the river today.”
“Encroachment can only be carried out if the government and the politicians in power give a free ticket to the culprits,” alleged Sahay. “If the government allows illegal encroachment to take place, who can remove it? Once a structure comes up, it’s never pulled down.”
However, Ravi Sharma, BJP MLA from Jhansi Sadar, through which the Pahuj river flows, rubbished the allegation about encroachment on the river.
“During our five-year tenure from 2017 to 2022, we have demolished whatever encroachment was there in the catchment area of the river,” claimed Sharma. “The river has been measured and there is no encroachment anywhere on the river.”
He also claims that the Pahuj river will be restored to its ancient form as per the next five-year plan of 2022-27.
Contrary to these claims, however, some local journalists showed many instances of encroachment on the river and questioned the Jhansi Development Authority (JDA) and Municipal Corporation’s functioning.
When asked to comment on it, JDA vice president Sarvesh Kumar Dixit said that he was unaware of any kind of encroachment and asked The Wire to contact Municipal Corporation and Irrigation Department regarding it. Rajpal Singh, chief engineer of the Irrigation Department, also refused to discuss the matter over the phone and added that he would comment on it once the elections were over.
The Jhansi collector too refused to comment, citing election engagements.
On the contrary, BJP mayor of Jhansi, Ram Tirath Singhal, acknowledged the issue of encroachment and said, “We are making efforts. We must work collectively.”
“The river falls under the jurisdiction of the Irrigation Department,” added Singhal. “Therefore, the department must also ensure that there is no unnecessary encroachment in the river’s catchment area. The JDA will also have to keep an eye on such constructions, along with us (the municipal corporation). Together, all three bodies will ensure that it is not repeated in future. Our concern is to keep the water flow in the catchment area of the river unhindered.”
The Pahuj looks more like a grass lawn than a river. Photo: Deepak Goswami
No response was received from BJP MP Anurag Sharma, Bharti’s political successor in Jhansi. The Pahuj river also passes through Babina assembly constituency but the MLA of the area, Rajiv Parichha, did not respond either.
A Jhansi-based senior journalist, Prem Kumar Gautam, believes that Bharti has failed to fulfil her promise of preserving her adopted river and restoring it to its original form. During her tenure, he said, she could neither preserve the Ganga nor improve the condition of the Pahuj river.
“In the name of upliftment, only grills were installed on both sides of a bridge on Pahuj, to keep people from throwing garbage. But can a grill stop filth from entering the river?” he asked.
Commenting on the local administration’s plan for uplifting the Pahuj river, Singhal said, “We have installed high grills on both sides of the bridge on Pahuj, so that people cannot throw garbage. Besides, tenders have been floated for a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) tasked to purify drain water entering the river and the work will start soon. We will keep upgrading the plan as needed in the future.”
Sarvesh Kumar also claimed that the JDA plans to implement a major project for the development of the Pahuj, but its execution was stalled as the model code of conduct came into force.
“As soon as the drain water starts getting purified through the STP, the river will start recovering naturally,” said Ravi Sharma. “Following this, a campaign of beautification of Pahuj will be launched under which trees will be planted. It is our resolve to introduce water sports at Pahuj Dam.”
A ghat on the Pahuj. Photo: Deepak Goswami
“Pahuj is a rare river of India,” said Sanjay Singh. “Its geographical nature is such that large-scale artesian wells line its banks, from which water flows naturally. Pahuj is unique because no other river in India has such banks. Among several of its benefits is the fact that it has an ample amount of water available.”
“Whenever there is strong will and effort to conserve a river in a scientific manner, it can be revived,” he added. “But the first thing we need is to clear away the encroachment which damages the artesian wells. All the buildings should be demolished and a definite and sufficient amount of water should be released from the dam to maintain the river’s flow. But politicians are scared to take action for fear of upsetting voters.”
This, however, leaves the claims of the administrative officials regarding the upliftment of Pahuj in doubt. It is worrisome how a rare river in Bundelkhand, which is already battling a water crisis, is slowly being wiped away while efforts to uplift it are only limited to lip-service.
“It is said that where there is a will, there is a way,” quoted Sahay. “But that ‘will’ is missing when it comes to the government’s attitude towards Bundelkhand. Therefore, we believe in one solution to all our problems – a separate Bundelkhand.”
Translated from the Hindi original by Naushin Rehman.
