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dam-l (fwd) Over 700 Arrested In India During Maheshwar Dam Protest

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Subject: Over 700 Arrested In India During Maheshwar Dam Protest
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Date: 3 Apr 1999 21:04:49 GMT
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/** headlines: 186.0 **/
** Topic: Over 700 Arrested In India During Maheshwar Dam Protest **
** Written  5:52 PM  Apr  1, 1999 by econet in cdp:headlines **
/* Written 8:08 AM  Apr  1, 1999 by ntangri@essential.org in en.announcements */
/* ---------- "LS: Over 700 Arrested in India Durint Protests" ---------- */

From: swong@irn.org (Susanne Wong) 
	(by way of Neil Tangri <ntangri@essential.org>)
Subject: LS: Over 700 Arrested in India During Protests

Narmada Bachao Andolan
Press Release 

31.3.99

Maheshwar Dam Oustees Occupy Maheshwar Dam Site and Deliver Final
Warning : Government Uses Tear Gas to Disperse : Over 700 Arrested

Today, as thousands of the oustees to be affected by the Maheshwar Hydro
Electric Project (MHEP) marched towards the dam site, the Government
burst tear gas shell to disperse them, and arrested people at several
places. In spite of this, the people reached and occupied the dam site,
and delivered the final warning to the state Government, the Indian and
foreign companies investing in and supporting the project that unless
the work on the project is stopped and the review initiated as per the
report of the Task Force within a week,  the affected people will take
to the streets in large numbers and along with the people affected by
other dams in the Narmada Valley, launch an indefinite struggle.

About 700 people were arrested a they moved towards the dam site, and
one women injured by the tear gas shell has been admitted to the
Mandeleshwar hospital. This is the eighth time the affected people are
occupying the dam site, and the third one in this year.

Today, several thousand of the affected people started moving towards
the dam site from many different directions. The administration fired
tear gas shells to disperse those advancing from the coffer dam side.
One woman, Resham bai of village Mardana was injured in this and she has
been admitted to the Mandeleshwar hospital. The people entering from
village Jalud side were also stopped and arrested. In spite of these
attempts, the people succeeded in reaching the dam site and stopped all
the work.

In the public meeting held later at the dam site, the affected
people, which included  a large number of women, stated that the
Maheshwar Hydel Power Corporation had completely failed in the
rehabilitation and now it is taking recourse to use of subterfuge and
force in desperation. In the last days, false cases have been filed on
75 people. The MHEP will bring financial ruin on the state and we will
stop this destruction at any cost. Hence, we are warning the Madhya
Pradesh state Government that unless the the work on the dam is not
stopped within a week, then the people of Maheshwar dam affected areas
will, along with the people affected by other dams in the valley, take
tot he streets in large numbers and launch an indefinite program  of
hunger strike and expose the reality of the project to the world. Giving
this warning,the affected people have written a warning letter to the
state Government that the destruction of the large dams must be stopped
and the state Government must implement the recommendations of the Task
Force that it itself had constituted.

Alok Agarwaal
NBA

********************

NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN

58, M.G. Road, Badwani, M.P. 451551 ( Ph. 07290-22464)
Mumbai Contact : Pervin-218 4779/5832

Press Release/ 31.3.99

HUMAN RIGHTS MARCH OF NARMADA VALLEY TO START ON APRIL 1
THOUSANDS TO REACH  MUMBAI ON  APRIL 4 : DELHI DHARNA ON  7th

Thousands of men and women in the Narmada valley have started converging
in Badwani on the eve of the historic ŒManav Adhikar Yatra ( Human
Rights March) which will commence from Thursday ( April 1) to reassert
the right to life of the people and to oppose the large scale forced
displacement. The people will be challenging the state and Union
governments for giving false information regarding the displacement and
resettlement in the Sardar Sarovar Project to the Supreme Court. 

The court, in its interim order on February 18, allowed the construction
on the dam and raising its height from the 80.3 meters to 85 meters. The
state governments and the centre had given false affidavits claiming
that they had enough land to resettle all those affected by this height,
when even those who had been already displaced could not be resettled
fully. Apart from the people affected by the SSP from the three states
of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra- the representatives from the
other large pojects in the Narmada valley like Bargi, Tawa, Narmada
Sagar, Man etc. will join the march. 

All the walls and roads in and around Badwani, the district
headquarters, are painted with the slogans declaring the peoples
resolve to resist the attempts to oust and impose the controversial
Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) on the tribals and peasants of the valley.
The march will traverse the villages in Madhya Pradesh before entering
in Maharashtra at Shahada. There will be meetings, interactions with the
peoples organisations and groups along the route. Over 50 trucks and
number of jeeps will be in the rally.  Nearly 3000 people would raise
the basic issues of displacement and destitutions by the projects like
SSP en route Mumbai. They will have major progerammes in and around
Anjad, Khetiya Shahada, Dhule, Malegaon, Nashik and Thane before
reaching in Mumbai on April 4-5. 

 The valley people are joined by number of organisations from amny parts
of India. Veteran Sarvodayi leader Siddharaj Dhadda and others, national
champion for Womens High Jump Ms. Bobby Alousius, convenors of the
National Alliance of Peoples Movements, the representativees from Gosi
Khurd dam affected people in Vidarbha, Damodar Project in Bengal,
friends from Ganga Mukti Andolan, activists and student activists from
Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka and Orissa are going to be with the Yatra
from the start. Veteran social worker Baba Amte has already left for
Delhi via Indore and Bhopal. 

During the March the people would participate in the rally of the
fisherpeople in Mahim on 4 th evening. On 5 th the Yatra will stop at
the Khatau Mill to extend solidarity to the Girni Kamgar Sangharsha
Samiti. The Samiti was holding an indefinite fast to press for the
demands of justice for the mill-workers in Mumbai. After the
demonstrations against the Maharashtra government in and around Azad
Maidan, the people will march to Delhi to hold demonstrations against
the Union Social Justice department. This department is also is in
charge of overall resettlement aspect in SSP and has made false claims
about it in the apex Court. 

The people and their Andolan demands that the concerned governments
should submit the real situation regarding the displacement and
resettlement in the apex Court. It should also accept the responsibility
of the unwarranted submergence due to the increase in the height of the
dam. This submergence will be result of the callous and insensitive
attitude of the government and bureaucracy towards the people, their
life and resources. It is clear that the the Yatra would be important
not only in the context of the displacement in the SSP and in the other
projects in the Narmada valley, but also will raise the important issues
about the human rights of the displaced and dispossessed all over India. 

MEDHA PATKAR

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Susanne Wong
Campaigns Assistant
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94703 
Tel: 1.510.848.1155 ext 316        email: swong@irn.org   
Fax: 1.510.848.1008                     web: www.irn.org           

** End of text from cdp:headlines **

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--
Krishna E. Bera             "Programmer on the loose"