Silent, as Harsud drowns

BY Pradyumna Singh| IN Opinion | 04/07/2004

Letters to the Hoot-- such a grave injustice does not so much as even find a passing mention in these newspapers

Sir,

I am writing to express my outrage at the astounding silence of the Times of India and the Hindustan Times on the imminent drowning of the town of Harsud as a consequence of the Indira Sagar Dam, and the accompanying destitution and dispossesion wreaked in the name "development" on thousands of people.

Ever since the waters have begun to rise and submerge various settlements in and around Harsud, thousands of people without any rehabilitiation options are having to flee their homes and abandon their livelihoods.

It is deeply lamentable that such a grave injustice does not so much as even find a passing mention in these newspapers (atleast the web version).

For newspapers that claim to be among the most widely circulated daily in India, this omission is shocking. Instead of keeping people informed on such serious issues, they are busy (especially TOI) keeping them inebriated with all sorts of nonsense, ranging from pictures of half-naked women to death of hollywood actors !

This inexcusable silence makes them every bit as complicit in the heinous crime and repression now being unleashed in the Narmada Valley, as the other three pillars of democracy in India. It is a reminder that in the interests of democracy the citizenry will have to make the Press more accountable !

Pradyumna Singh
Tucson, Arizona

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