Medha Patkar begins fast to protest Gujarat govt refusal to open Narmada dam gates

By A Representative
Narmada Bachao Andolan (NDA) leader Medha Patkar has begun fast, alongside 24 women associated with the top the anti-dam organization at Chhota Badda village in Badwani district of Madhya Pradesh, against the alleged refusal of the Gujarat government to close open Sardar Sarovar dam’s gates in order to keep the reservoir level low, less than 130 metres.
Blaming the Government of India’s and Gujarat government’s “adamancy”, in a statement, NBA said, the water levels in the dam’s reservoir have reached 133 metres, turning hundreds of villages and farms into islands. Even at 130 metres, temples, buildings, shops had begun being submerged.
Pointing out that World Bank apprehensions, when it withdrew from the project in 1993, that the dam would lead to unprecedented submergence, are providing to be true, the statement said, the villages which are most affected are situated in Barwani, Dhar, Khargone and Alirajpur districts of Madhya Pradesh.
Meanwhile, in a letter to Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath seeking “strict steps” to rehabilitate thousands of displaces oustees of the Sardar Sarovar dam, several senior activists, including Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Dr Binayak Sen, Prafulla Samantra, Lingaraj Azad, Meera Sanghamitra, Kavita Srivastava, Sandeep Pandey and others, have regretted that despite his intervention, the Gujarat government is bent on filling up the Narmada reservoir up to 139 metres.
“Rehabilitation of thousands of families is incomplete in Madhya Pradesh, there are no facilities at rehabilitation sites, even the displaced citizens find their farmlands and houses getting submerged”, the letter said, quoting a communication dated May 27 sent by the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh to the Narmada Control Authority (NCA), which stated that 6,000 families in 76 villages are residing in the submergence area.

The making of a self-made woman: How eighty sheep changed everything for Kalawati Ninama

By Vikas Meshram* About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.

India has spent billions on skilling. Where are the jobs?

By Vikas Gupta India loves the photograph of a certificate ceremony. A minister on a stage. A banner bearing the word “skill.” Young people holding folders that promise a future. It is a reassuring image because it tells us the problem has a manageable answer: train the young, make them job-ready, and work will follow.

BAPS, the Eiffel Tower and the curious silence on secularism

By Rajiv Shah I was a little surprised to see how some of those whom I respect for taking a firm stand on patriarchal issues reacted to the manner in which they responded to the recent incident in Paris, in which women employees of the Eiffel Tower were asked to remain "invisible" on September 5 when 100 BAPS sadhus visited one of the world's top tourist destinations.

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