Six Andhra villages "submerged" as Naidu dedicates Gandikota project to nation; NAPM seeks compensation

By A Representative
The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), representing tens of mass organizations across India, has asked the National Human Rights Commission chairman to immediately intervene and inquire into “illegal” release of water from Gandikota reservoir, submerging six villages in of YSR Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.
In all, NHRC has been told, 1500 cusecs of Krishna river water is being released every day from Gandikota reservoir, which would eventually lead to “flooding” of 22 other villages.
Calling it a gross human rights violation, NAPM says in its letter, the waters are being released “without due process of law and rehabilitation as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, and the Andhra Pradesh Rehabilitation Policy, 2005.”
Sent amidst Chief Minister N Chandrbabu Naidu formally dedicating the Gandikota Project to the nation, NAPM says, the government itself has admitted that of 9,000 families who would be affected, 5,700 families are yet to avail of benefits.
Pointing out that the actual number of oustees would be much higher, NAPM alleges, while the government claims that 3,300 families have received benefits, many have denied having got any compensation.
Those who have signed the letter include Medha Patkar, Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Gabriele Dietrich, Prafulla Samantara, Dr Sunilam, Binayak Sen, Sandeep Pandey, Jayasree Kaukumani, S Jeevan Kumar, P.Chennaiah, B. Ramakrishnam Raju, Meera Sanghamitra, Vimala Morthala, Kirankumar Vissa, Rahul Maganiti and others.
According to the letter, waters are being “released into the villages without prior announcements”, which shows “utter lack of humanity on the part of the government”, insisting, “Any further release of water and inundation of villages should be stopped forthwith.”
The letter says, meanwhile, the villagers are being forcibly displaced “without providing lawful rehabilitation and effective and alternative arrangements for their basic necessities like shelter, water, food and basic services like education, health, sanitation etc.”
The letter asks NHRC to ensure that the government makes “an immediate village-wise fair assessment of the previous land acquisition process in the light of the land acquisition Act, 2013”.
It says, this is necessary, the oustees have still not got the physical possession of the lands and houses and rehabilitation and resettlement of most of the project affected families is “not completed”, even though “lands/house were acquired several years ago.”
Emphasising that “in all cases where the erstwhile land acquisition has lapsed as per 2013 Act”, and the “state must recognize the ownership rights of the people”, the letter wants the state to make fresh initiation of “the whole land acquisition process, ensuring disbursement of compensation and rehabilitation of the project affected and displaced families.”
The letter says, “Two acres of promised land to all project displaced families should be distributed immediately within a specified time frame, as all the PDFs are dependent upon agriculture and allied activities.”
It adds, “The government should also take steps to provide alternative employment/livelihood opportunities near R&R colonies”, even as providing loans for people “dependent on cattle rearing and dairy industry.”
The letter further says, the villagers of Chowtupalli were promised a special package of Rs 1 lakh in September 2015, which the state government order has cancelled on January 4, which is one reason why the people of Chowtupalli are at the forefront in the struggle against submergence.
“The government should take back the order and conform to all the promises made to the people earlier”, the letter asserts, adding, “The compensation of Rs 1 lakh is not only meagre, it is also an attempt to scuttle the recognition and implementation of the rights as per 2013 Act.”

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

From colonial mercantilism to Hindutva: New book on the making of power in Gujarat

By Rajiv Shah Professor Ghanshyam Shah ’s latest book, “ Caste-Class Hegemony and State Power: A Study of Gujarat Politics ”, published by Routledge , is penned by one of Gujarat ’s most respected chroniclers, drawing on decades of fieldwork in the state. It seeks to dissect how caste and class factors overlap to perpetuate the hegemony of upper strata in an ostensibly democratic polity. The book probes the dominance of two main political parties in Gujarat—the Indian National Congress and the BJP—arguing that both have sustained capitalist growth while reinforcing Brahmanic hierarchies.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

UP tribal woman human rights defender Sokalo released on bail

By A Representative After almost five months in jail, Adivasi human rights defender and forest worker Sokalo Gond has been finally released on bail.Despite being granted bail on October 4, technical and procedural issues kept Sokalo behind bars until November 1. The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), which are backing Sokalo, called it a "major victory." Sokalo's release follows the earlier releases of Kismatiya and Sukhdev Gond in September. "All three forest workers and human rights defenders were illegally incarcerated under false charges, in what is the State's way of punishing those who are active in their fight for the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act (2006)", said a CJP statement.

Would breaking idols, burning books annihilate caste? Recalling a 1972 Dalit protest

By Rajiv Shah A few days ago, I received an email alert from a veteran human rights leader who has fought many battles in Gujarat for the Dalit cause — both through ground-level campaigns and courtroom struggles. The alert, sent in Gujarati by Valjibhai Patel, who heads the Council for Social Justice, stated: “In 1935, Babasaheb Ambedkar burnt the Manusmriti . In 1972, we broke the idol of Krishna , whom we regarded as the creator of the varna (caste) system.”

May the Earth Be Auspicious: Vedic ecology and contemporary crisis in Ashok Vajpeyi’s poetry

By Ravi Ranjan* Ashok Vajpeyi, born in 1941, occupies a singular position in contemporary Hindi poetry as a poet whose work quietly but decisively reorients modern literary consciousness toward ethical, ecological, and civilizational questions. Across more than six decades of writing, Vajpeyi has forged a poetic idiom marked by restraint, philosophical attentiveness, and moral seriousness, resisting both rhetorical excess and ideological simplification.

Search This Blog