Ex-IIT dean on fast-unto-death

The environmental threat posed by numerous hydroelectric projects planned on the Ganga has left many environmentalists perturbed. Former professor and dean of IIT-Kanpur G.D. Agrawal is among them.

The environmental threat posed by numerous hydroelectric projects planned on the Ganga has left many environmentalists perturbed.

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Former professor and dean of IIT-Kanpur G.D. Agrawal is among them, but he has chosen to register his protest against the “exploitation” of the river in a stronger form. The 76-year-old had been on hunger strike for 28 days as on Tuesday and will not break his fast unless “all development work that affects the flow of the river”, especially the Loharinag-Pala dam, is stopped.

Though the government has asked him to break his fast, he Agrawal said: “I will fast unto death unless the government does not stop the Loharinag-Pala dam work immediately. Nothing less is acceptable.”