Paisa Kya na kare kaam

People tend to value things that are not easily available. Never thought greenery could be one of them. Recently I had been on a trip to Al Ain and Jebel Hafeet. Al Ain is a well known oasis here and as expected there is enough greenery in and around it. Then we moved towards Jebel Hafeet, a mountain famous for the beautiful sight at sunset. On the foothills is a hot spring, which has been turned into a picnic spot. People from Dubai and Abu Dhabi throng this place during weekends. And here, I saw yet another miracle that only money can buy. Take a look at the pictures below..

This is a view from the public park around the hot spring. The greenery right in the middle of the desert attracts a lot of people. But the fact is that, the hot spring is just a thin trickle of water that feeds a large pool.


As we moved out, the stark difference became quite visible, the cliffs around were made of sandstone/limestone. Clearly quite inhospitable to any kind of vegetation and the hot spring not enough to bring out greenery over such a large area..

This view from the top of the mountain brings out the isolated green patch right in the middle of the desert..

So how is it possible.. As our car passed close to these patches, I could not help notice the network of pipes that spread over this huge area. All this greenery has been brought about by drip irrigation. Sprinklers work all year round to add color to this lifeless cliff faces.

I could not help wondering... all this at what cost... surely paisa kya na kare kaam...Clearly Adam Smith's law of scarce resources doesn't hold good here. Resouces, especially money seems unlimited and wants dont need to get prioritized..

As someone from a developing country where there is so much poverty.. where so many dreams, hopes and enthusiasm dies for the lack of resources, I can hardly say this is money well spent...