TIME has come for all of us to ask ourselves a very serious question about our own commitment to protecting the city’s environment and its lakes and its rivers and its forest patches and its parks and its gardens and its open spaces and its playfields ... ! Time also has come for us to ask why we are so hastily and enthusiastically engaged in killing our lakes -- not just Futala (Telangkhedi) but also others such as the Naik Talao, the Sonegaon Talao, the Sakkardara Talao, the Lendi Talao ... ! It is also time for us to ask why we are so much in a hurry to “develop” our city in such a thoughtless manner -- so much so that we create wrong and faulty urban designs not just for our fly-overs and roads etc but also for many places of emotional importance to us ! ‘The Hitavada’ has been raising all these issues all the time -- asking serious questions, seeking serious answers, and making the administration in general to stand in the witness box to respond to public concerns. Most unfortunately, however, the administration has learned a fine trick of evading that responsibility; it maintains a studied silence when we raise critical issues.

 

The strategy -- of the power-pyramid of the city -- is simple: Keep the mouth shut, say nothing in response, let the people shout. In time, everybody will fall silent -- and our ‘work’ can continue. But ask anybody in the city about these issues, and angry responses would flood out. Common citizens, environmentalists, administration officials (in private), political workers belonging even to the ruling party, teachers, students, men, women -- all are unhappy that a systematic assault is taking place on the city’s vitals.

 

‘The Hitavada’ office receives streams of visitors every week raising concerns about environment and countless urban problems of design and their execution. “When a child of four can understand that we are damaging our own city, the city’s leadership just blinks and turns away and walks off,” moaned a senior citizen who has had a good exposure to public issues all his life. Yet, with dedication and single-minded focus, the administration in general is engaged in the task of causing damage to our own environment and the concept of correct and utilitarian urban design. The time has come to ask the question: “WHY ?” ‘The HitavadA’ is confident that the common people take our campaigns as pro-city and not as “anti-development” as some elements may love to brand. May it is stated with emphasis that every issue ‘The Hitavada’ has raised over time in larger public interest has been endorsed as right -- and righteous -- by various forums including the judiciary.

 

The reason is simple: Every issue we have raised is with malice towards none but a bias for the city and its good causes. For the past some time, we have come up with details of how the administration in general has been eating up the Futala (Telangkhedi) Lake systematically. Most unfortunately, the administration has chosen not to offer any response to the expose`. But ‘The Hitavada’ does not mind. For, it reads this silence as an earnest prayer by the administration that the crisis would pass. In other words, we read the silence as an affirmation. Thank you ! n