By Vidyadhar Date

The Times of India News Service

MUMBAI: The anti-Enron campaign has received a boost with the publication in Marathi of Abhay Mehta's much-acclaimed book in English Power Play on the Enron saga. The Marathi book, Vajraghat derives its title from the mythological Indra's assault on demons with his powerful weapon Vajra.

The English version was published two years ago and was hailed for its extensive documentation of everything that was found to be questionable about the Enron project. It cites several secret documents concerning the deal.

The recent controversy over the high tariff charged by Enron has vindicated the stand taken by Abhay Mehta. But he is not happy. ``How can I feel happy when the project threatens to make Maharashtra bankrupt?'' he asks. However, he says he would be satisfied if the book acts as a trigger in the fight against Enron.

Mehta has updated the Marathi version and written an introduction which he ends by expressing a deep sense of anxiety over the impact the project would have on the state's finances and the people. He gives a chart of the growing dues the Maharashtra State Electricity Board and the government would be burdened with in the next 20 years. But he is also hopeful that the people of Maharashtra would free themselves from the ``clutches of the multinational''.

Abhay Mehta, trained as a molecular biologist at MIT in the U.S., found himself confronted by the developments on the Enron issue on his return to Mumbai in 1993. He joined in the legal battle against Enron and wrote the book. The English version has now gone into the third edition and has received wide acclaim. However, Mehta says he feels there is need for much more awareness on the issue in India. He found much more concern on the issue among academics and students in the United States during his lectures there than in India.

The book has been translated into Marathi by Sulabha Brahme, herself the author of a book opposing Enron, and Manjiri Damle and Ravindra Desai.

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