To CM Sukhvinder Sukhu ji with love (and tears)

Respected Sukhvinder Sukhu ji,

Namaskar.

 Forgive my audacity, please. But since I consider you to be a kind, decent person coming from humble origins, are not elitist, haughty or strong-headed, and know the pain and pulse of the common man, hence this open letter.

The way you have been trudging the monsoon-battered hills, villages and towns and addressing affected people’s woes with a personal healing touch despite acute resource crunch, and Delhi being more political than munificent, has endeared you to the people of Himachal at large. (I can’t remember any other CM/MP/minister, royal or rich, who has ever parted with a few lakhs of her/his crores like you did by donating all your savings of 51 lakhs for a public cause.) But that is not enough. The unprecedented, colossal devastation unleashed by the monsoon this year has left us awe-struck and grimly aware of the demonic force of Climate change getting fiercer by the day, and beating the drums of sarv vinaash louder than ever before.  Nature has served yet another notice on us. You, Sir, occupy the exalted chair at a crucial juncture when post monsoon, our mountains, rivers and the public are looking askance at you. “No half measures please” is their collective cry. “Dump the ill-conceived SDP,” shout the suffering hills of Shimla.  “Tweak the ears of NHAI and hold them accountable,” scream the ugly gashes and wounds on hill slopes. “How many crores of taxpayers’ money has gone down the drain of greed, corruption and unscientific 4-laning of highways?” they ask.  “And to what end?” “Choked, muddied rivers? Landslides with every burst of rain? And the fancied 4 lanes reduced to slushy, narrow tracks worse than before?” 

Sir, this cannot go on.  Whether it is the Chandigarh-Shimla, or Chandigarh-Manali or Pathankot-Mandi 4-laning, the same sad story repeats itself: Story of heedless hearts, unscientific heads and callous hands recklessly squandering away the public money and then more taxes being levied on the taxpayers to muster more funds for repairs and maintenance. And so the vicious, scandalous cycle of organized loot continues with nothing gained but more lost.

 Sukhu ji, our majestic Himalayas are in rage and tears. So are our rivers- the Beas, the Ravi, the Satluj - mourning their defilement and defacement by the unthinking, haughty human hand. Our deodars and oaks, deer and pheasants are sad and scared. Even the sun seemed to have changed its countenance - at times either turning too hot or too wan – watching with disgust green hills bleed and the snowy peaks lose their silvery sheen. At times it seems as if some vile, violent aliens have taken over and colonized our lovely lands and rivers … as if it is they who are using the enslaved man’s hands and heads to pulverize and pound everything that is beautiful, and gouging out the very soul from our God-blessed land.

Sukhu ji, a great opportunity beckons you. You can turn and reverse this sinister wheel - this demons’ vijay rath - of ruthless destruction running amuck in our state. Please exorcise this devil here and now. No SDP. No big airports. No big dams. No hydel projects. No cement plants. No free-for-all, unregulated, pollution-spewing tourism. From self-destructive, suicidal madness let’s switch to the sane, the aesthetical, the sustainable in all respects: tourism, construction, power generation, roads, automobiles. No more blind aping of a ‘city model’ a’ la our Bangalores and Gurgaons. A total shift, complete metamorphosis into “Evergreen” Himachal of smiling Himalayas, sparkling rivers, exuberant forests and mesmerizing sunrises and sunsets. In short an altogether new, novel, ‘Bhutan-like’ model of eco-friendly development.

Shall we begin? NOW.

Truly,

Subhash