Arjun Singh was the man who built the dam. For thirty years, he served as chief engineer in the water resources department of a drought-parched state. He refused bribes, slept on-site during furious monsoons, and knew every crack in every concrete slab. His loyalty was never to any politician or party. It was to Matrubharthi—the sacred, unspoken duty of serving the land that had given him life, his motherland in its most literal, thirstiest form.The first betrayal came from his own minister. When the dam's right canal developed a leak, Arjun submitted a detailed report blaming substandard cement sourced from