Anti-Narmada dam oustees continue protest as MP govt issues alert on threat of flooding of Rajghat, Badwani

The bridge which has begun overflowing

By A Representative
Amidst Narmada waters rising in “feet and meters”, to quote anti-Narmada dam activists protesting against the alleged refusal to rehabilitate an estimated 15,500 project-affected families, the Madhya Pradesh (MP) government has issued an alert about possible flooding of low lying areas of Badwani and the nearby regions in upstream of the dam.
The alert has been issued even as the Gujarat government prepared itself to “celebrate” overflow of the Narmada dam as a result of huge waters gushing from the upstream. Already, thousands of tourists from across the state are rushing the overflowing dam.
The MP government alert has been sounded amidst two other big dams upstream of the Narmada dam, Omkareshwar Indira Sagar, opened their five and eight gates respectively. This became inevitable as the water levels of the Omkareshwar dam crossed 191 metres, and of Indira Sagar dam crossed 260.4 metres.
The warning comes as hundreds of activists sitting in protest on the banks of Narmada river at Rajghat, Badwani, since July 30, 2016. According to the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), which has organized the protest, the levels – 191 metres and 260.4 metres – of the two dams “had to be maintained” in order to ensure that there is no further submergence.
Meanwhile, the state government has evicted shopkeepers in the immediate downstream of Omkareshwar, which is also a religious-cultural centre, even as waters have reached Rajghat, submerging the first temple on the bank of Narmada.
The Narmada water rose from 15 to 17 feet above the Rajghat Bridge in less than 24 hours, cutting off villages in Dhar district on the opposite (northern) bank of the river from Rajghat in Badwani. Earlier, the gates of two smaller dams, Tawa and Bargi, on Narmada in MP, were opened to allow flood waters to move to the downstream.
At Rajghat, the satyagrahis are sitting in batches, in teams from four villages from four tehsils every day. In a symbolic gesture against refusal to rehabilitate thousands of Narmada dam oustees, they planted trees around Gandhi Samadhi. There is a strong fear that decades of trees may go into submergence.
A section of the Narmada satyagrahis knocked at the doors of Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) in Badwani. Shouting slogans ‘no rehabilitation, no dam’, women and men belonging to several villages, Amlali, Pipri, Kasrawad, Pichhodi, Semalda and Ekalbara, sought answers to questioned on their status from the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Officer.
They confronted the official claim of the Madhya Pradesh government that there is zero balance in rehabilitation. While the NBA activists said 15,500 oustees families remained to be rehabilitated, the official accepted that “at least 700” are yet to get land and/or compensation, as their applications are pending before the Grievances Redressal Authority (GRA), which is supposed to take complaints on rehabilitation.
Answering questions on disaster management plan, the official failed to show that any such plan exists for those living on the Narmada river banks and might go into submergence as the water levels rise.
The NBA commented, “It may be noted that there have to be District, State and Central Disaster Management Authorities which could plan and implement measures for mitigation and compensation as well as protection of thousands of families who are to face submergence.”
It adds, “No plan seems to be available with the state, though there is an order of the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court directing the state to prepare it for the whole of Narmada Valley.”

Comments

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Health Day ads spark row as NAPi targets Britannia campaign, criticizes celebrity endorsement

By A Representative The advocacy group Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) has raised concerns over what it describes as misleading advertising of ultra-processed food products (UPFs), particularly those high in sugar, fat and salt, calling for stricter regulations and an end to such promotions across media platforms.

Search This Blog