If Modi celebrates his birthday by inaugurating the Sardar Sarovar Dam, it will only be done by risking lives of lakhs of Project Affected Persons (PAPs)
Threat of submergence increased in Narmada valley as authorities decide to release water from other reservoirs
Narmada oustees to stage Chunauti dharna
Bhopal | 13th September 2017: Narmada Bachao Andolan led a ‘Chetavani Rally’ in Bhopal today in which a large number of Narmada oustees participated. The Rally ended with a 2 hours long serious dialogue with Mr. Rajneesh Vaish, Principle Secretary, Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA). Other organisation such as All India Kisan Sabha, oustees of Bargi dam, Chambal valley and others also took part in the rally and dialogue.
During the dialogue, on the issues of rehabilitation of Sardar Sarovar oustees, Mr. Vaish time and again referred to the fact that all the issues have already been debated and decided upon by various courts and hence we would not enter into any discussion on the same. However on insistence Mr. Vaish had to reply to a number of questions from which it became obvious that a number of work started taking place when Ms. Medha Patkar along with other villagers sat on indefinite fast. All these work are far from completion. His claim that water supply has been provided to all the sites including Nisarpur and Awalda was refuted by the people of those villages. Oustees from Narmada valley, Rameshwar Bhilala and others categorically refuted the claim by Barwani collector about full provision of basic amenities at R&R sites.
According to Mr. Vaish, Madhya Pradesh can continue to receive water from Sardar Sarovar reservoir and there is no legal barrier in the same. This certainly is not a legal position and yet he has promised that NVDA will fulfil the demand of getting reservoir waters to every resettlement sites. On various other issues his replies again confirmed that some of the construction works to ensure access to the farms outside submergence that would become marooned are just recently planned. Tenders for such works have not been issued yet, this exposes government’s false claims about full rehabilitation.
Various representatives including Devram Kanera, Vijay Bharat, Mukesh Bhagoriya and others conveyed to the Principle Secretary that in any situation there should be no submergence without complete rehabilitation. Mr. Vaish found to be having misinformation about NBA which was clarified by NBA activists.
Jaswinder Singh of Alll India Kisan Sabha held MP govt responsible for sacrificing the people of Narmada valley for vested interests. Rajesh Tiwari and Rajkumar Sinha narrated the serious deprivation faced by the farmers and fish workers of Bargi and said that NVDA has always acted against the policy of granting fisheries rights to the affected Fisher people.
The delegation concluded the meeting with strong warning of intensifying the agitation when Mr. Vaish informed that water level regulation is in the hands of NCA and it seems that they may release waters from Indira Sagar to fill the Sardar Sarovar reservoir to a level of 130 metres. This was strongly opposed by the people since it would bring in flood and submergence of many houses and fields in many villages..
The oustees will stage a Chunauti dharna tomorrow to once again convey strong opposition to the fake and cruel dedication of the Sardar Sarovar project by Mr. Modi to the nation. The very fact that Mr. Suresh Mehta the former CM of Gujarat has countered PM and Gujarat govt claims and statistics on the Sardar Sarovar benefits already received which according to him is highly exaggerated.
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