Skip to main content

15,000 Narmada dam oustees to be evicted in Madhya Pradesh by July 31: June 5-7 'Save Narmada' to protest move

By Our Representative
The Madhya Pradesh government is all set to evict around 15,000 families by July-end in the Narmada Valley, even as Gujarat government is readying itself to close down the 30-odd gates on the Narmada dam in order to take the water level in the dam’s reservoir from the present 121.92 metres to 138.64 metres.
Quoting official figures, top anti-dam activist Medha Patkar has said, 8,200 families to be evicted will be from Badwani district and 6,132 families from district Dhar, apart from a few families from Khargone district.
Calling these figures are an “underestimates”, in an email alert to Counterview, Patkar says, “All this is being done without even full compliance with the latest order of Supreme Court that directs complete rehabilitation and vacating the lands on receiving the cash packages by farmers.”
Yet, she says, “The police and revenue officials are visiting one village after another with drone cameras to photograph long distance visuals of the areas to be vacated.
Pointing out that all this is not proving to be easy for the state’s officials, Patkar says, “They are facing questions and wrath of people who are not ready to move out without all rehabilitation and entitlement.”
To give expression to this wrath, Patkar says, her organization, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has decided to hold a three-day "Save Narmada, Save Life" yatra, starting at Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on June 5, and ending at Vadodara, Gujarat, on June 7.
The aim of the yatra, according to her, would d be to campaign against the effort to close the Narmada dam’s 30 odd gates to store water up to the full reservoir level – 138.64 metres from the present 121.92 metres.
Accusing the BJP government at the Centre, and in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, of forming “an unholy alliance of lies and web of deceit”, Patkar says, the move would “drown thousands of families from the 192 villages and one town by closing the gates of the Narmada Dam.”
“We have exposed their lies of complete resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R), proved as recently by the February judgment of the Supreme Court”, Patkar claims, regretting, the authorities remain “callous” violating “every order of the Supreme Court and many orders of Grievance Redressal Authority of Madhya Pradesh.”
Pointing out that “even today the resettlement sites remain incomplete”, Patkar says, “A few hundred families even in Maharashtra are yet to be resettled with land and new sites to be established. Besides, those resettled in Gujarat years ago are on the roads asking for their due rights which still remain unfulfilled.”
Wondering why are Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra supporting this “devastation” caused the Narmada dam in the downstream, Patkar says, neither of the two states are to get even drop of water, and the only beneficiaries would be “the rich corporates and big urban centres” of Gujarat.
Finding that Narmada waters may not reach them, Patkar says, at several places “even Gujarat’s own farmers are on the streets”, adding, even electricity to be produced from the dam’s power houses would go waste, as Madhya Pradesh, which is supposed to get bulk of it, “does not require it any more.”

Comments

Unknown said…
Isn't this the same lady who got thrashed in the recent elections? So much for the "voice of people". It's so funny that it's tragic.

TRENDING

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha*  The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza*  An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000. 

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.

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas*  Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist  Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024. 

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco*  Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

'Pro-corporate agenda': Odisha crackdown on tribal slum dwellers fighting for land rights

By Our Representative  The civil rights network Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), even as condemning what it calls “brutal repression” on the Adivasi slum dwellers of Salia Sahi in Bhubaneshwar by the Odisha police, has said that the crackdown was against the tribals struggling for land rights in order to “stop the attempts at land-grab by the government.”

Deplorable, influential sections 'still believe' burning coal is essential indefinitely

By Shankar Sharma*  Some of the recent developments in the power sector, as some  recent news items show, should be of massive relevance/ interest to our policy makers in India. Assuming that our authorities are officially mandated/ committed to maintain a holistic approach to the overall welfare of all sections of our society, including the flora, fauna and general environment, these developments/ experiences from different parts of the globe should be clear pointers to the sustainable energy pathways for our people.

Hazrat Aisha’s age was 16, not 6: 'Weak' Hadith responsible for controversy

Sacred chamber where Prophet and Aisha used to live By Dr Mike Ghouse* Muslims must take the responsibility to end the age-old controversy about Hazrat Aisha’s age at the time of her marriage to the Prophet (pbuh) – it was 16, not 6 (minimum was 16, Max 23 per different calculations). The Hadiths published were in good faith, but no one ever checked their authenticity, and they kept passing on from scholar to scholar and book to book.  Thanks to 9/11, Muslims have started questioning and correcting the Hadiths, Seerah, and mistranslations of the Quran. Now, the Ulema have to issue an opinion, also known as Fatwa, to end it and remove those Hadith entries. Mustafa Akyol, a scholar of Islam, implores Muslims to stop deifying “the received traditions” and critically study their religious past, shedding rigid legalism and close-mindedness. Someone else used the phrase “copycat Muslims” to identify scholars who copied what was given to them and passed it on without researching or questioni