Skip to main content

Following R-Day protest off Narmada, tribal women ensure stoppage of "illegal" work on Garudeshwar weir

 
Protest against the construction of the Garudeshwar weir across Narmada river, about 12 kilometres downstream of the Narmada dam, took a new turn on the Republic Day when senior activists of the environmental group Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Vadodara, and women’s NGO Sahiyar succeeded in convincing the affected villagers about the need to intervene and stop the work which has begun. The result was, following a village-to-village campaign on January 26, on January 27 a team of women from several villages reached Narmada river along the Garudeshwar village and succeeded in ensuring a stop on the ongoing work.
A statement declaring the “great success” achieved on the occasion, issued by the Sitter Gam Adivasi Sangathan (Seventy Adivasi Villages’ Organization), said, “The villagers, mainly women, succeeded in stopping the work was going on, singing songs and raising slogans against the illegal nature of the weir. They asked the contractors to stop work, failing which they would again return to protest on January 31. They told the contractors that they should not be party to the illegal activity of the government. Contractors stopped work.”
The NGOs and mass organizations of the seventy villages argue that the work on Garudeshwar weir has begun without taking into account the prerequisite of environmental hearing of the affected villages. They cite the view of a senior member of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA), the statutory body which provides environmental clearance for the Narmada project, who has expressed strong exception to giving clearance to the Garudeshwar weir without eco-clearance. The weir’s water is to be used for tourism purpose, on one hand, and to provide water to the industries in the Dahej-Bharuch area.
Things began to shape up soon after the Republic Day ceremony, held by the villagers on January 26, where villagers from the nearby villages had gathered at Indravarna. “Elderly women from Nana Pipariya village, Shantaben, Gajraben and Gangaben, unfurled the tricolor and spoke on the occasion. Trupti Shah of Sahiyar spoke about how India achieved independence and how the tribals fought against the British rule, including during the 1859 War of Independence. She also spoke about their active participation in non-violent struggles, on one hand, and in revolutionary movements, on the other”, the statement said.
“Mangrol’s Bhartiben spoke on the importance of January 26. It was suggested that the Constitution of India provides equal rights to all, whether they are women, tribals or Dalits”, the statement said, adding, “Subsequently, several women, including Nana Pipariya’s Kuntaben, Kevadia’s Sharadaben and others took the lead in discussing issues related with land, forests, river and livelihood. They discussed on how to ensure that the work begun by the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd on the weir is stopped.”
“Following flag hoisting and the meeting, the villagers began leaflet distribution. The police officials, in the meantime, continued their video shooting”, the statement said, adding, “This was particularly surprising, as the police department had no other work to do and the government was spending its precious time, energy and money for a work it is not supposed to do. The government is refusing to answer simple questions. The adivasis are not demanding anything but holding a non-violent struggle for the protection of their constitutional rights, protection of the environmental law by stopping the illegally of the weir’s construction.”

Comments

TRENDING

Why predictions of an imminent collapse of the Russian economy may be wrong

A veteran Canadian journalist, settled in Russia, stated in a Facebook post that President Donald Trump "is apparently listening to experts who tell him that Russia's economy is on the verge of 'imploding,' and if he just squeezes a bit harder," his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "will fall into line."

Talking of increased corporate control over news, Rajdeep Sardesai 'evades' alternative media

When I received an intimation that well-known journalist Rajdeep Sardesai was to speak at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) on February 2, my instant reaction was: I know what he is going to say—his views are quite well known; he wouldn’t be saying anything new. Yet, I decided to go and listen to him to catch his mood at a time when the media, as he (and I) knew it, is changing fast due to the availability of new technological tools that were not accessible even a decade ago.

DeepSeek censors uncomfortable queries on China, but why's Gemini so touchy on India?

The powerful Chinese AI app DeepSeek, which has taken the Silicon Valley by surprise, as it has capacities matching Google’s Gemini and Open AI's ChatGPT, is being criticised for restricting free speech, and rightly so. It is being said that those signing up for the chatbot and its open-source technology "are being confronted with the Chinese Communist Party’s brand of censorship and information control."

Gujarat a police state? How top High Court advocate stunned a senior-most journalist

Rajdeep Sardesai, Anand Yagnik This is a continuation of my earlier blog on well-known journalist Rajdeep Sardesai's lecture in memory of the late Achyut Yagnik at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA). I was a little surprised when I received the intimation about the venue for the lecture.

5% poor in India? Union govt claim debunked, '26.4% of population below poverty line'

A recent paper, referring to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2022-23 of the Government of India (GoI), has debunked the official claim that poverty has substantially declined. Titled "Poverty in India: The Rangarajan Method and the 2022–23 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey", the paper —authored by scholars CA Sethu, LT Abhinav Surya, and CA Ruthu—states that "more than a quarter of India’s population falls below the poverty line."

Gujarat's water anarchy? 16.7% of Narmada water going to industry, 33% of targeted area irrigated: Govt insider

The Narmada project is something that has always excited me, including how much water will be distributed and to which sector. A few days ago, when I was talking to a top Gujarat government insider, I was a little surprised when I was told that it is up to the “respective states to decide how much Narmada water they would distribute among various sectors” out of the total quota allocated to the four states—Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan—as per the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal award of 1979.

Russians at a Bali yoga camp to avoid drafting for war? Things aren't any different in Ukraine

Are people in Russia becoming frustrated with the prolonged war in Ukraine? And is the war having a similar impact on the people of Ukraine? I have no firsthand information about this, but it is well known how nationalist hysteria often seeks to conceal such frustration, particularly among the youth.

I'm flattered: A New York media house claims I was a KGB agent! Wow, I didn't know that

I was astonished, let me say pleasantly surprised, on receiving a comment by Rich TVX News  on my blog   "Why predictions of an imminent collapse of the Russian economy may be wrong" (January 28).  I don't know who wrote the strange comment from this "media house", which is based in New York, and claims to "hold sway not only among the masses but also within global corridors of power, influencing esteemed politicians and shaping international diplomacy, especially evident during pivotal events like the ongoing crisis in Ukraine."

A shocker for parents? Rush for 'prestigious' varsity degrees to reduce; instead, industry may prefer skills

Recently, I had a conversation with a senior researcher working on a project for a consumer goods multinational corporation (MNC) at one of the top institutes abroad. Insightful and articulate, he holds a PhD from a prestigious university and has a remarkable ability to analyze social dynamics. I am withholding his name because our discussion took place informally during a friend’s lunchtime gathering.