Open letters

Shekhar Gupta is a big name in journalism in India. One of the basic principles of good journalism is supposed to be that facts are sacred. So one had expected that Shekhar would stick to facts even when he is arguing his case for big dams and river linking plans. Unfortunately, his column “Drought-proofing India” (Indian Express, August 15, 2009) is a collection of misinformation and misrepresentation of facts. His article claims that good agricultural prospects of Punjab, Haryana and western UP is due to big dams. This claim is not supported by any facts or analysis. On the contrary, available evidence (see Unraveling Bhakra by Shripad Dharmadhikary) shows that about 45% of agricultural production of Punjab and 35% of agricultural production of Haryana is based on mined groundwater, the subject of the editorial in the Indian Express on the same page where Shekhar’s article appeared.