Date: Wed, 26 May 93 21:53 EDT From: opirgc@web.apc.org (OPIRG Carleton) Subject: SSP: 250 Villagers Held in Baroda /* Written 5:37 pm Dec 31, 1992 by pmccully@chasque in web:dams.general */ /* ---------- "SSP: 250 Villagers Held in Baroda" ---------- */ (Reprinted from the Times of India, Ahmedabad, 29 December, 1992.) _______________________________________________________________________ 250 NARMADA VILLAGERS HELD _______________________________________________________________________ (Baroda, December 28) About 250 people from the Narmada main canal-affected villages, including 28 women, were today arrested after the police refused them permission to stage a sit-in in front of the office of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Development Cooperation here to press their demand for giving "project-affected" status. Among the arrested were the Narmada Bachao Andolan [Save the Narmada Movement] leaders Mr Girish Patel, [a Gujarat High Court lawyer] from Ahmedabad, Mr Himanshu Thakker [a leading NBA activist] and Mr Thakorebhai Shah [a trade union leader] from Baroda. The Andolan had organised the sit-in to be followed by a rally here this afternoon to press the demands of the canal-affected people to provide them the benefits applicable to people affected by the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam. According to a spokesman of the Andolan, while the police had earlier turned down the plea for permission to take out the proposed rally through the main thoroughfares of the city on grounds of prevailing disturbed conditions, it apparently had no objections to the villagers staging the sit-in in front of the corporation office. Dharna [sit-in] Not Allowed But as agitating villagers started arriving at the site, the police posted there told the Andolan leaders that no dharna could be allowed since it could lead to "tension" in the city. Despite repeated pleas by the Andolan, the police declined to budge and pushed the first batch of rallyists out of the premises of the corporation office. As the rallyists attempted to re-enter the premises, they were promptly put under arrest. As more and more volunteers from different villagers kept arriving at the site, they were put under arrest by the police and taken to the Pratapnagar police station. The Andolan spokesman said the rallyists came from some 40 canal- affected villages besides the representatives of six original villages whose lands were acquired to set up the Kevadia Colony to function as the head quarters of the dam construction group. Obviously referring to the recent rally organised in the city by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Andolan spokesman regretted that while the police were allowing the "communal forces" to carry out their activities unhindered, it was coming in the way of the "genuine sufferers" and ordinary people trying to raise their voice against repression on flimsy grounds of creating tension. The police did not allow the agitating villagers to submit their memorandum to the corporation authorities which, among other things, also carried a one-month ultimatum to the government to settle the disputes of the canal-affected within the period after which they had threatened to stop the canal construction. The villagers also wanted that no one should be displaced from their lands till a proper rehabilitation programme was announced by the government in consultation with the affected people. ______________________________________________________ *Notes: The major demands of the canal-affected people (on World Bank figures, 170,000 people will be affected by the irrigation canals, 24,000 of whom will lose over a quarter of their land) are: a) They should be accorded "Project Affected Persons" (PAPs) status and thus be covered by the same resettlement policies as applicable to PAPs (oustees eligible for resettlement from the submergence zone). b) The complete policy package for the canal should be finalised in *consultation* with those affected. c) All work on the canal as well as land acquisition for the canal should be stopped until a) and b) are fulfilled. Shripad Dharmadhikary from the NBA writes: "The canal demonstration was deliberately not allowed by the authorities as they are feeling that the organisation of the canal- affected people under the NBA banner is growing strong. Obviously they don't want this. "They used the excuse that there is tension in the city because of communal disturbances but this does not make sense as communal organisations are anyway being allowed to hold rallies. "This is a typical example of how the government is involving the people and is an example of the "improved consultation practices" promised to the World Bank by the Indian state governments." Readers are requested to write to their national aid agency or foreign ministry and World Bank Executive Director to complain about continued World Bank support for the project, pointing out in particular the human rights abuses linked to the attempt to get the local people's "participation". PMcC/31/12/92