Water is thicker than blood in Bhopal
Once upon a time Bhopal was known for its aristocratic culture. It was a city of Tals (ponds), Talees (clapping) , Taams (royal cuisines), Tanpooras (musical instruments) and poets. Today, most of that has gone into the folklore.
THESE DAYS if one walks around the lanes and by-lanes of any Indian cosmopolitan city, one will find an unpleasant scene of empty bottles of liquor, glistening discarded bottle covers in the middle of the roads and on the side-walks – thanks to our neo-rich emerging culture, prosperity and powerful advertisement campaigns. Despite that a huge section of population even today waits in long queues for the Jal Board trucks to arrive for the supply of water.
Once upon a time Bhopal was known for its aristocratic culture. It was a city of Tals (ponds), Talees (clapping) , Taams (royal cuisines), Tanpooras (musical instruments) and poets. Today, most of that has gone into the folklore. Stories of fairy tales have been replaced by the stories of miseries of the victims of Union Carbide Gas tragedy. The gas tragedy was a result of sheer negligience. Unfortunately corruption is on a high and the corrupt officials never allowed the compensation money to reach the actual victims.
Last year Bhopal witnessed a triple murder in a dispute over water . Jeevan Malviya, 42, his wife and son were killed in a violent squabble that broke out when they tried to draw water from a leaky municipal water supply line.
Three days later, another murder took place in Bhopal in the Kanha Saiya area following a dispute between two groups over fetching water, forcing the administration to ensure the distribution of water in the presence of police. Immediately after the crisis an official spoke to the public saying that 100 home guards have been sent to take care of the problem. It barred people from gathering along the 122-km Nemawar water supply line after several cases of water pilferage were reported. Policemen even today guards the length of the pipeline.
But even before people could be convinced about the efforts of the government officials, a teenager was stabbed to death by her neighbour over drinking water dispute.
The incident took place at Bakshibagh area in the city when Poonam Yadav (18), standing outside her house was attacked by Hukum Gaur with a knife. Poonam was rushed to the hospital where she was declared dead. In the preliminary investigation, it was found that due to water crisis in the city, the victim’s family members had earlier requested Gaur’s family members to stop drawing water from their tap, police said.
While people here are being stabbed to death for such a basic necessity,others are enjoying the resource in abundance.
