The author Rajesh Kumar Ranga, a Chartered Accountant/ Company Secretary by profession and a resident of one of the desert cities of India, settled in New Delhi, the capital city of India has been a regular visitor of desert and has an immense love for desert. Over the years the disappearance of sand domes and the desert in the name of urbanization , farming and industrialization is being witnessed. There used to be a time, not so long ago, when the desert and sand domes were at the doorstep of cities of Rajasthan.The roads , railway tracks and other approaches to even the big and prosperous cities of Rajasthan used to be blocked by sand dumes , which had to be manually removed to pave the ways for vehicles. This was the nature in the original,pure and virgin form.It had heart, soul ,conscience, love and emotion in it . What we see today is reverse of it. The grand buildings,apartments,amusement parks, hotels, restaurants and farms have come up on the desert land. We have not left nature in its prized form to enjoy but have chosen to destruct , trash , humiliate,spoil and abuse it. All this is done to meet our greed to earn and make money. The skill of making fast money by changing the ‘use of land’ hitherto focused in the metros and big cities, is now getting attention in the villages too. Some of the pertinent questions which has answers available within us are—
- Can we build or re-build deserts? Is’nt the destruction of nature irreversible?
- Who has given us the right to destroy the important landmarks given by the nature?
- Have we run out of places to destroy?
- Should we obliterate the magic of desert and ruin this precious jewel of earth?
- Is’nt the desert a paradise on earth? If we can attempt to protect trees, hills, greenery and manmade structures,should’nt we do something to protect the desert?
- What are we leaving for our next generations in legacy? To see a sand dume will they be required to visit South Africa or a Middle East country.?
- Are’nt we assassinating our rich heritage, traditions, ethencity and culture?
- Are we aware of the fact that the desert land has rich source and reserves of priceless metals and minerals beneath it.?
- Has enough been done in the field of oil exploration? Desert countries like Saudi Arabia became prosperous after making genuine efforts in this direction.
- Is it essentially required for a desert state to be self dependent for food grains. To save the rich culture and ecology of one state and maintain an ecological balance in the sub-continent , can’t India as a country stand unitedly.?
- Is’nt the desert of Rajasthan a unique feature for our country and can attract number of tourists all over?
- Are you aware that the water in the desert used for irrigation leaves contents of salt making it unfit for next crops.
- Are you aware that the builder mafias and land grabbers have already paved their way in to the desert land and that they have no love or respect for the desert.
- Can’t the desert provide alternate employment through Tourism, Oil exploration, discovering and utilizing sources of Metals and Minerals in place of exhaustive farming, large scaled unwarranted construction and rapid industrialization.
- Are you aware of the fact that in the Industrial zones developed by the Government on desert,no major industries have come up and the plots remain barren and unutilized.
- Are you aware that the on account of Government apathy and entry of land grabbers the desert vegetables like……. which were moderately priced earlier are scarcely available and are outside the purchasing power of a common man?
- A scarce and precious commodity like water is extensively used in building and farming activities, Should’nt that necessary be preserved for drinking purposes for human beings and cattles?
The answers to the aforesaid questions lie within our heart. The basic question is whether we are proud of or ashamed of our own desert. |
