Yamuna Bridge Updates from Katie

The following update has been sent to us by Katie Jo Walter, whose research work has brought her to Vrindavan. Now she has been dragged into actively helping the various causes that are of primary interest to the Braj Vrindavan Heritage Alliance--the environment and Vrindavan's sacred heritage.

Greetings to all and Radhe Radhe! I wanted to post an update on the bridge situation. Some developments are a bit fuzzy in detail, but I wanted to pass on what is known.

First of all, the last judgment by the Allahabad high court regarding the bridge lifted the stay based on plans showing the bridge crossing the Yamuna. Apparently, no such plan was submitted and the true plan (the one showing the bridge going in a semicircle in front of the ghat) was the one placed before the judge for scrutiny. I have heard from two separate sources deeply involved in the legal struggle that this judge was under a great deal of pressure and so made this false statement about the evidence placed before him.

The good news is that this leaves the door wide open for the case to be taken to another court. Supposedly the judge worded his ruling in such a way so as to make further litigation possible – he simply could not handle the case any longer himself.

SO - Now there is a new public interest litigation petition. This litigation also calls for the clearing of all construction waste from the bridge and to have the Yamuna returned to the ghats. This case was heard briefly on Friday before being postponed to Monday. I will update this page on Monday with the court case information as soon as it is posted.

Additionally, rumor has it that Jaypee Construction is hurting for funding as it tries to complete the massive Yamuna Expressway group of projects. It is said that their payments to subcontractors are in arrears and that they are demanding 3 crore Rs from the state to restart work on the bridge. The state is not willing to do this, so this is another reason for things being at a standstill (or so I was told). The following links show just how large and how expensive this group of projects is for Jaypee. It also gives us a glimpse into the future of toll roads and yet more real estate expansion:

Jaypee Infra Goes Public

Cost of Yamuna Expressway Project

Last but not least, there is the update to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Remains Act of 1958 which passed in parliament last month. This act does not allow ANY construction within 300 meters of a monument protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The bridge is currently situated at 107 meters from Jugal Kishore Mandir. Before this new amendment, projects could get clearance from regional and national ASI offices by obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC). This process has now been completely done away with. Furthermore, no new constructions are allowed to take place at all until all pertinent bylaws to this amendment have been formulated. The director of ASI, people in the Architectural Heritage Department of INTACH and others have expressed the view that since this bridge has not yet been built, it will not be allowed to be fully constructed in light of this new law.

Here is an interesting article about just how many ASI monuments are being encroached upon (UP leads the list, go figure).

Here the regulated area should be read as 200 meters additional to the first 100 meters.

I hope this helps to give everyone some hope, even though it contains fewer details than we all would like. As I said before, I will post the results of the latest Public Interest Litigation case on Monday. If anyone wishes to comment or correct me on anything, please do so on the Save Yamuna to Save Vrindavan Faceboook page and--or discussion board.

Jai Yamuna Maharani,
Katie

Many people have been inquiring about the current situation with the bridge, especially since most have heard that the stay order was lifted. However, as Katie shows here, things are a little more complicated than that and no new work has been begun since then.

For all intents and purposes, for various reasons, the project seems to have hit a wall. The various opponents to the bridge are not letting down their offensive and are striking from different angles, keeping up the pressure. Supporters of the bridge are doing the best they can, but it appears that they are somewhat in disarray.

Not that the forces of Kali-yuga should be underestimated. Kaliyuga can come in the form of sadhus, santas, Brajavasis, and well-wishers of various stripes, as well as politicians and materialistic business people.

Vrindavan's problems are enormous. The infrastructure is totally inadequate, and most efforts to improve it seem to be haphazard, totally misguided and without any concept of how the best interests of the people will be served. Garbage removal is left in the hands of a few NGO's whose capacities are stretched beyond limit. Traffic is being channeled into the center of town where it will simply create havoc.

No attempts are being made to beautify or preserve the few green or potentially green areas. Little effort is being made by the public sector to intervene and make the most of the heritage buildings and temples. Since the Yamuna flows through an important part of North India, including the capital city, some people are taking notice of its pathetic condition and so consciousness is being raised. But this is simply one of many fronts on which consciousness has to be raised and multiple efforts made.

As Sewak Sharan said to us yesterday: the economic interest of Vrindavan is destroyed if the two elements on which it stands are destroyed: the environment and the sacred heritage, both of which are interdependent. The environment has nearly been destroyed. The latest road widening on the Mathura-Vrindavan highway led to 800 trees being chopped down. The widening of the road to Chattikara similarly led to hundreds of trees being lost.

Jagannath Poddar tells me that the few neem trees that line the Bhaktivedanta Marg are going to be saved, but I would guess that they are still at risk. At any rate, tree planting is a lot more than putting a seed in the ground... it takes years of watering and protection. How will these many thousands of trees be replaced?

I hope that all of the people who read this Facebook page will recognize that the Bridge was just an issue that served the function of a "final straw." We are going to have to get ready to volunteer on many, many levels in many, many areas, to create a Vrindavan in which the sacred heritage and the sacred environment are recognized and treated as such by residents and visitors alike.