Impact of increase in Narmada dam height: 6,000 families await watery grave in valley, alleges Medha Parkar

By Our Representative
Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has alleged that more than 6,000 families are awaiting “watery grave”, as their houses, livestock and fertile agricultural land “will face submergence because of the Government of India going ahead with raising the Narmada dam from the present 121.92 metres to 138.64 metres.” The height of the dam is being raised even though “the Supreme Court is still to give its verdict on legality of the ongoing construction on the dam”, she has added.
Talking with newspersons at Jantar Mantar in Delhi following a protest by Narmada dam affected persons, Patkar said, “Large-scale irregularities, manipulations and ongoing corruption in the Narmada valley; including in disbursement of compensation to farmers and other affected people, are bigger than the recently exposed Vyapam Scam.”
Hundreds of tribals from the Narmada valley marched in protest against raising of the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam and “denial” of the rehabilitation of the oustees. Apart from Patkar, those who addressed the rally included Hannan Mollah, Annie Raja, Anil Chaudhary, Swami Agnivesh, Sagari Chaabra, Kavita Krishnan, Kuldip Nayar and others.
Calling the Modi government decision to raise the height of the dam by 17 metres a “direct violation of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) which disallows any further displacement before complete rehabilitation in the Narmada Valley”, it was suggested, that recent fact-finding report titled “Drowning a Valley – Destroying a Civilization” points to the “grave implications” of this move, displacement on an estimated 2.5 lakh families in 245 villages in three states, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The Fact Finding Report has been written by political leaders, public personalities and experts Hannan Mollah, Annie Raja, Binoy Viswam, Dr Sunilam, Prof Raj Kachroo and Soumya Dutta. It was prepared after their visit in the valley reveals numerous violations and non-compliance of judicial orders, inaccurate surveys, massive corruption and denial of justice to those forced to suffer for a misplaced cause of ‘development’.
Journalist Kuldip Nayyar spoke of “lack of interest” among the elected representatives of Parliament in raising issues related to the dam. Annie Raja, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) said, people in Narmada valley have fought on for 30 years now, not accepting compensation even under pressure. Hannan Mollah, general secretary, All-India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), referring to the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, said it was meant for “corporate land grab.”
Already, it was pointed out, the dam-affected Chimalkhedi village in Maharashtra saw a suicide on June 9 committed due to failure to implement rehabilitation of an oustee family. “Displacement induced huge financial distress to the families and other prominent members in the protest raised fears that a similar trend may follow across the Narmada Valley”, NBA statement said.
It warned, “Following the mammoth catastrophe in Nepal and Uttarakhand, the dam-affected people from the valley have urged activists, environmentalists, policy-makers and the governments to take cognizance of maintaining ecological balance for the lives and livelihoods of more than 2.5 lakh families, already facing massive devastation.”

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Buddhist shrines massively destroyed by Brahmanical rulers in "pre-Islamic" era: Historian DN Jha's survey

By Our Representative
Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book, "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Contempt of court? UP CM taking 'personal vendetta' against Dr Kafeel Khan: Activists

Counterview Desk
Demanding that the Uttar Pradesh government immediately release well-known paediatrician Dr Kafeel Khan, a group of more than 100 academicians, activists, researchers, doctors and lawyers have said in an open letter that he is being “targeted at the behest of the chief minister”, wondering, “When is an act of challenging the government a threat under the National Security Act (NSA)?”

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam*
RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

ASI has 'no funds' to protect five centuries old Goa church, a World Heritage Site

Counterview Desk
The century-old All-India Catholic Union (AICU), the largest Laity movement in Asia, has blamed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for neglecting the historic Bom Jesu church by keeping its ceilings open to the vagaries weather, with no steps taken to protect the five century old monument from damage on account of impending rains on the lame excuse that there are "no funds". In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AICU simultaneously asks the Government of India to devise a "comprehensive" national social security safety net, universal health Insurance and medical Infrastructure so that the “calamity” that has befalenl millions of migrant labour and jobless rural and urban poor in “the Covid pandemic-driven lockdown is “never repeated.”

Withdraw sedition charges against three young women activists: 1100 feminists

Counterview Desk
About 1,100 feminists from all over India – organisations and individuals across religion, class, caste, ethnicity, ability, sexuality and genders – have issued a solidarity statement condemning what they have called “the targeted crackdown on Muslims and women activists in Delhi”, who were at the forefront of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).

Will Govt of India, ICMR end 'perverse' practice of extracting profits from ill-health?

By Asmita Verma, Surabhi Agarwal, Bobby Ramakant*
The Epidemics Act, 1897 gives the central and state governments authority to impose any regulations which may be necessary to contain the outbreak of a disease. Some state governments such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh have already used this power to bring private healthcare facilities in their state under government control.

Coping with Covid-19? Options before small, marginal farmers of rainfed regions

By Biswanath Sinha, Kuntal Mukherjee*
The global crisis due to Covid-19 has hit after reaching in western Europe. India’s response to curtail the spread of the disease was quite decisive. It announced a Janata curfew on the March 22, followed by a complete national lockdown from the midnight of March 24.

Tablighis or Namaste Trump? Rupani must 'clarify' on origin of Covid-19 in Gujarat

By Mujahid Nafees* In his video communication on April 24, 2020, chief minister Vijay Rupani informed us that in the month of March the Gujarat government had quarantined 6,000 people returning from abroad in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. He further asserted that the spread of Covid-19 was caused by the tablighis returning from Nizamuddin in Delhi. His statements were widely publicized and given front page coverage by some local dailies.

'Violation' of migrant workers' human rights: Legal notice to IIM-A director, govt babus

By Our Representative
Taking strong exception to the police action against protesting migrant workers off the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on May 18, senior Gujarat High Court advocate Anandvardhan Yagnik, in a legal notice to the IIM-A director "on their behalf" has said that the workers had only been seeking to to go back to their home states, Jharkhand and West Bengal, for the last more than 20 days because they were not paid their “earned wages because of the lockdown.”

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