THE OTHER SIDE
Paritosh Kimothi
Some persons have expressed concern about the direction society is taking in Uttarakhand after the alleged gangrape of a minor in Champawat was revealed to be fake by the police. However, much worse cases have been taking place in the State for some years now. In 2024, a court in Dehradun acquited a man who had spent five years in jail for allegedly raping his own minor daughter. It was ascertained that the girl had framed her father as he had objected to her bunking school and the company she was keeping. Some research would leave one with a list of false rape cases, especially those based on a “false promise to marry”.
Hearing one such case earlier this year, the Uttarakhand High Court had stated that one cannot be categorised as a rapist for refusal to marry after a long-term consensual relationship between two adults. Though such misuse of laws and rights have been occurring more frequently in Uttarakhand for some years now to the detriment of society and the real victims of crimes, society has remained comfortably ignorant while the authorities continue their biased approach.
Ignoring such an alarming proclivity is not an isolated phenomenon as the attitude which guides such a reaction affects other aspects too. The result of the attitude which makes one ignore the tendency to misuse laws is all too evident in Dehradun and other places in the plains and mountainous regions of the State. Many in Dehradun have for long been complaining about the negative changes and the way the once idyllic town has deteriorated into a noisy, polluted and congested town with shrinking greenery. Some years ago, a bureaucrat heading a development authority told one that he was planning to get a firm in Noida to grow cacti in Dehradun. Wondering about the logic, one was talking to the then director of a national level institution considered to be the top authority in forests and trees. With a wry expression, the gent said that the NDMC was taking the services of the institution as a consultant for urban greenery while the authorities in Uttarakhand were ignoring it. Had the authorities sought expert opinion and acted upon it, the resulting urban greenery would have kept the city’s environment cleaner and appearance better, resulting in better quality of life, among other benefits.
Recently while attending a briefing at another national level institution in Doon, one heard scientists recall two cases in Dehradun district where interventions by the institute had resulted in reverse migration. These two cases are a decade and more older and despite the success stories and similar challenges facing a large part of Uttarakhand, the skills of yet another top institution based in the State remain underutilised. At the local level too the situation is not that better. One has been hearing municipal officials talking about checking public littering and ensuring proper waste disposal for years now with limited effect. The public continues to violate the laws and the authorities fail to effectively enforce the laws. In many cases, resources are actually being used to the detriment of the environment. In the locality where one lives, the ward sanitation committee members appear once every few months. They tend to pile garbage littered on the roadside and set fire to it or simply leave the pile. They also remember to visit the lane and chop the flowering trees we grow by the side of the lane outside our home. So much for cleaning and nurturing the environment.
One may wonder how one started off with false rape cases and then shifted to underutilisation of expertise and the skewed sanitation concepts prevalent in the city. The thread running through all these aspects is the continued disdain for foresight and common sense that the authorities and society in general seem to have been exhibiting for some years now. Of course, the government always talks about balancing the environment and economy while some citizens also talk of the environment. The reality is very different at the ground level. What makes this actually alarming is that we have become habituated to this.
If the people are unaware or unwilling to do the needful in their own interests, a responsible government should ensure that the public does what is needed. However, political perspectives are prioritised more often.
As we prepare for what is forecast to be a hotter than usual summer, remember that common sense and experts too have been telling us for years that this and much worse is expected if we continue as usual. Let us wait and watch to see what this summer teaches and what actions are taken based on the lessons.
