By Balwant Sanghera
For the past week or so two issues have dominated the media – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation and in Punjab – the river waters of Sutlej Yamuna Link. One is national in nature affecting not only people of India but also visitors, and NRIs and tourists alike and the other greatly affects Punjab and surrounding states.
Prime Minister Narinder Modi’s and his government recent demonetisation is reported as a surgical strike against black money and corruption. The government, without any advance notice suddenly made the currency in the denomination of Rupees 500 and 1,000 obsolete. The new currency with the Rupee 500 and 2,000 denomination is in short supply. There are long line -ups in the banks and ATMS of people wanting to deposit the old bills and get new ones in their place. People are getting very frustrated. Businesses are also suffering as there are no customers with the new currency.
This problem has hit the tourists, visitors and NRIS very hard. They have no new currency in order to purchase even some basic necessities of life. A friend of mine who has just arrived from Canada was not only frustrated but also angry as he has no access to new currency bills. An Australian tourist in Dharamsala was quoted in the media with considerable number of old currency bills that no business was accepting. She said that she was stuck and was trying to find some way to return to her homeland ASAP.
Prime Minister Modi was quoted in the media urging ordinary people to be patient and bear with him. He assured the public that the central government is doing everything within its means to sort this out and make things easier for people through this transition. He has promised more stringent reforms to address the issues of black money and corruption in the country and has requested more time to deal with this problem. On the whole, people are understanding and are supportive of this move.
The other issue that is affecting Punjab is the question of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL)re Punjab’s water. Recently the Supreme Court of India ruled that Punjab’s earlier move at stopping water flow to Haryana through the proposed SYL was incorrect and that Haryana has the right to Punjab’s water through SYL. The issue has now become political in view of the upcoming provincial election. All of the political parties are stepping over each other in advocating for Punjab’s right to deny water to Haryana or any other entity. It is also costing the province huge amounts of money in legal fees etc. to fight it’s case. Here is what the Tribune newspaper has to say about this issue in its latest edition:
” …Though the Supreme Court announced its verdict on the Presidential Reference, litigation related to the issue is far from over. The Punjab Government can file a review petition in this case, appealing to the SC to re-examine the issue. As the SC verdict is is said to be an advisory opinion under Article 143 of the Constitution for the President, for getting this opinion legally executed, the Haryana Government may have to re approach the Supreme Court and the Union Government. Certainly there will be another bout of litigation on this issue.”
Regardless this has caused a lot of anxiety and frustration for the people. If this is not resolved soon we might see the tragic mayhem of a year or so ago when NH1 was blocked by Haryana’s residents at the border between Haryana and Punjab. All we can do now is hope that cooler heads will prevail and things will get back to normal soon.
Balwant Sanghera is Richmond-based writer and activist. He is currently visiting India.
