DR. G.D.Agrawal- on fast until death from June 13th,2008

Professor G.D. Agrawal, now about 76 but in robust health, has been residing at Chitrakoot for almost 20 years now. He has taught Environmental Engineering at IIT Kanpur for almost two decades. He also served as a Dean at IIT Kanpur for a number of years. After that, he was the Member Secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board, Govt. of India New Delhi and during his tenure the air pollution act was enacted by the Indian Parliament. Later he helped to setup Envirotech , a Pvt. Sector company to develop indigenous technology and instrumentation to monitor air pollution and air quality with the help of which air quality data had been generated in the country. During 1990-2000 at the request of Nanaji Deshmukh, he served as a faculty member at the Gramodaya Vishwa Vidayalay set up by Nanaji at Chitrakoot. He worked there without accepting any pay in an honorary capacity as a service to the country. He is one of those legendary teachers whom their students remember even after years. He has inspired many most prominent among them was late Anil Agarwal who founded the Centre of Science and Environment, M.C. Mehta, prominent environmental lawyer, Shri Rajendra Singh, waterman of India, and Dr. B. Sengupta of CPCB. But above all Prof. Agrawal is a man of deep understanding and high integrity inspiring hundreds the world over.

Prof. Agrawal has a deep understanding of Indian traditions and environment and thus has a very different perception about most environment related issues, more rooted and appropriate for our country and the world as well. He has been deeply disturbed, like many others, about the manner in which Gangaji has been treated by successive governments over the years. We have been tampering with the Gangaji , in particular the Bhagirathi (tehri dam is only one among many glaring examples) resulting it in only running like a trickle many times (because of the damning of the flow). At times there has been no water even at Haridwar. This is a severe blow on the faith of a large majority of people in this country. And faith is a big thing. It gives tremendous strength to cope with adversities in life. It unites people. Dr. Agarwal is much pained by what we are doing to the Gangaji and the implications it may have on our people and our country. Having done the damage that we have already done by building dams, he feels now at least the Ganga between Gomukh and Uttarkashi should be left alone without any human intervention.

Unfortunately on such issues of so called 'development', all governments, all political parties have similar views and hence the schemes go on undisturbed, with change in governments. It is almost a global phenomena – the way our elite, the powerful, perceive 'development'. Under the circumstances he has decided to go on fast unto death from June 13th 2008 (Ganga Dusserra). He will find a suitable place in Uttarkashi and start his fast from that place.
He has written a letter to a few people close to him informing them of this decision and the reasons thereof, asking them to pray for him to help him in his resolve.
Dr. Agrawal is not a publicity seeker. He has not reached his decision in a hurry but after deliberating and contemplating about it for a long time. This note is only to inform you and to request you to, if possible, try and talk about the reasons behind the decision of Prof. Agrawal with people you know.

Faith has become a dirty word but is it so? Gangaji is not only an environmental issue but much bigger than that. I know for a fact that During the month of Shravan (august- Sept) when people come to Haridwar to pick up Ganga water and carry it to different Shiv Temples .

It is a strange country – this India _ we do not seem to know it fully as most of us have become alientated (thanks to the kind of education we have received).

The Issue of saving our ganga

Reverence for Ganga is the ethos of Indian population. A very large majority believes in its divinity. It is venerated as the holiest. Ganga is mentioned in the Vedas. Thinkers and social workers of present times, such as Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, have written how it binds the population with countless beliefs and faith. They have strived to preserve its purity.

Urbanisation and non-sustainable industrial development has sullied Ganga and other rivers. To correct the wrong done, river conservation programmes were launched. The first such effort was formulated as ‘Ganga Action Plan’ under the directions of former Prime Minister, late Shri Rajiv Gandhi.

Except in the Himalayan reach, Ganga is made to carry sewage from cities and foul wastes from industries. Large amounts of water is abstracted. Now the onslaught is on the Himalayan reach, the Bhagirathi. First, Tehri dam was built, then Maneri Bhali II at Uttarkashi. Next a series of 5 dams are planned or being built between the Gangotri glacier and Uttarkashi for generation of hydropower. At these sites water is stored, then released periodically through tunnels at suitable locations where power houses are built, back into the stream channel. The same is repeated again (and again) further downstream. The result is that in long stretches and over considerable period of time, there is no flow in the channel. The Ganga runs dry.

The final insult is that the Environment Impact Assessment report of the projects states that no monument of historical, religious or archaeological value is affected!

Professor Dr. G. D. Agrawal, formerly Professor and Dean at IIT, Kanpur, Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board, a noted teacher, a renowned environmentalist and a devout Hindu, in protest of such callous attitude, has decided to go on fast from June 17, 2008, until death, unless it is decided that henceforth all development work which affects the flow in the stream channel between Gangotri and Uttarkashi is stopped.

We, the undersigned (and many others) agree with the stand taken by Professor Agrawal. It is a matter of making a choice between a thousand megawatts of power and upholding the faith of billions of people.

Dr. M. Anandakrishnan, Chairman, Board of Governers, IIT, Kanpur
Dr. Ragni Prem, Secretary, Banvasi Sewa Ashram
Shri Paritosh Tyagi, formerly Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board
Padam Shree Shri Dilip Biswas former Chairman, Central Pollution Control Board.
Shri M. C. Mehta, Noted Environmental Lawyer and Megasaysay Awardee.
Shri Rajendra Singh, Noted Water saviour and Megasaysay Awardee.
Dr. Ravi Chopra, Noted Educationists and Director, Peoples Science Institute, Dehra Doon