Skip to main content

Medha Patkar rejects chief minister Kamal Nath's plea to end hunger strike


By A Representative
Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has rejected Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath's plea that she should end her hunger strike, which has entered the fifth day. On satyagraha along with her NBA supporters at Chhota Badda in Barwani district against "illegal drowning" of Narmada dam oustees, 10 more activists joined her hunger strike on Thursday.
The ten persons who joined Patkar belong to the affected villages of Bhavati, Bijasan, Ganpur, Chhota Badda, Rajghat and Gangli. A statement issued by NBA said, the Centre and the Government of Gujarat remain insensitive to the point of thousands of families in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, who are forced to face drowning without policy-driven rehabilitation.
It added, the Narmada Control Authority (NCA), a central government agency, is deliberately trying to drown the peasant-tribals, cattle herders, potters, and landless laborers without rehabilitation by increasing the dam's water level, claiming, at present, rehabilitation of 32,000 affected people is pending.
The statement said, although the Kamal Nath government of Madhya Pradesh has started a process of dialogue with NBA, the Gujarat government and the NCA – who ordered to raise the water level of the dam – have not responded to the "clear mass-killing effort being done in this planned manner."
It accused Madhya Pradesh authorities of continuing to spread lies about rescue operation. SDM of Kukshi, for instance, has claimed to saved more people than the total number of affected. The authorities are forcibly evacuating the affected from the villages in the name of rescue operations, it added.

Comments

TRENDING

Gharapuri's discoveries: India finds a maritime past, ASI an app

By Gajanan Khergamker  The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has once again demonstrated an extraordinary talent for mistaking administrative housekeeping for institutional achievement. At the very moment excavations at Gharapuri are yielding evidence that could fundamentally reshape our understanding of India's maritime past, the institution has chosen to celebrate the rollout of QR-enabled audio guides and GPS-supported navigation at its monuments. The contrast could not be starker. 

Bihar’s land at ₹1 per acre for Adani sparks outrage, NAPM calls it crony capitalism

By A Representative   The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has strongly condemned the Bihar government’s decision to lease 1,050 acres of land in Pirpainti, Bhagalpur district, to Adani Power for a 2,400 MW coal-based thermal power project. 

What's behind Columbia's president-elect speaking out against continuing the country’s peace agenda

By Laura Violeta Devia López  There are just over three weeks left before Abelardo De La Espriella takes office as Colombia’s new president, despite the numerous allegations that cast a shadow over his election and, as usual, discredit the Colombian electoral system. The announcements already being made by Abelardo and his designated cabinet mark a significant change of course, not only for the Colombian people but also for the country’s place in the world.