Madhya Pradesh govt not doing enough to support Narmada dam oustees: NBA

By A Representative
The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has criticised the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh for failing to do enough to ensure that the Narmada dam oustees do not suffer because because of the rising water level in the river.
A statement issued on NBA leader Medha Patkar's hunger strike entering the sixth day for 32,000 oustee families' rehabilitation said, "Although the Kamal Nath government of Madhya Pradesh has started a process of dialogue with NBA, it has failed to comment on the order of the Gujarat government and the Narmada Control Authority by which gates of the dam have been closed and the water level is continuously rising in the submergence area."
Mea while, support for Patkar's hunger strike grew, members of the MGNREGA Mazdoor Union staging protest in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Parliamentary constituency, Varanasi, outside the district collector's office. Union representatives submitted a memorandum to the collector addressed to the Prime Minister demanding that the gates of the dam be opened at the earliest.
In Madhya Pradesh, a memorandum was given to collectors in several districts by the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti and Toko-Roko-Thoko Kranti Morcha, demanding that the gates of the dam be kept open till rehabilitation of all affected families is complete.

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