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dam-l LS: 5 Join Medha on Indefinite Fast in Dhule Jail
NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN
B-13, Shivam Flats, Ellora Park, Baroda-390007 (Ph. 0265-382232)
Camp: 16, Ashoknagar, Dhule- 424001 (Ph. 02562-34519)
_________________________________________________
Press Note/ 2.10.99
FIVE JOIN MEDHA IN INDFINITE FAST IN DHULE JAIL:
NBA DARES RANE TO PROVE CLAIMS AND CHARGES - DHARNA CONTINUES
As five villagers joined Medha Patkar in an indefinite fast in Dhule jail
from today (Saturday, Oct. 2) the people in Narmada valley dared the Chief
Minister Mr. Narayan Rane to prove charges of foreign funding to the
Andolan. The people once again challenged the state government to prove
that the land for rehabilitation of Maharashtra oustees was available
within 48 hours.
Sitarambhai Patidar ( Kadmal), Doorsingh Vasave (Domkhedi), Dadliya
Karbariya (Domkhedi), Naharsingh Pavra (Savariya), Mahadeo Patidar ( Chhota
Barda) are others who have decided to fast with Medha Patkar.
A large protest meeting was organised today near the jail. The participants
challenged the Chief Minister to prove the charge of foreign funding on the
NBA and invited him to elaborate the 'foreign hand' behind the Narmada
struggle. They also called upon Mr. Rane to prove within 48 hours that the
2200 hectares of land for the rehabilitation of Maharashtra oustees was
available. "Otherwise he must admit that he was lying and make an affidavit
to this effect in Supreme Court. We will expose the irresponsible
utterances of the Chief Minister in and out of the court. These bureaucrats
and politicians should not play with the life of us adivasis in such a
manner", said Pinjari Bai, a senior activist from Akrani tehsil in the
valley.
"The Andolan has been built by us on our own resources, from our friends
from all over India. We had not taken a paisa of the two international
awards the NBA has received", said the main activist, Luwaryabhai from
Alirajpur tehsil. Mansarambhai from Nimad ridiculed Mr. Rane's statement,
coming from the government, which is dependent on the money from the World
Bank and other multinatonals.
"Hundreds of the displaced families in Maharashtra have been without the
land, houses and the allotments of land. The displaced people have been
given the land which has been cultivated by other adivasis, which has led
to conflict between adivasi communities" said Pratibha Shinde of the
Punarvas Sangharsha Samiti. She challenged the Chief Minister to resettle
the families who have already been displaced and then talk about the
availability of the land and decried his plans to take away the land of the
'encroachers' in the name of rehabilitation.
Shripad Dharmadhikari of NBA has given detailed account of the fraud that
was being played by the governments, including the Maharashtra government
by filing the false affidavits in the Supreme Court about the
rehabilitation and land availability. The court had allowed the resumption
of the work on the dam on the basis of these claims, when even the first
village near the dam site could not be completely resettled. He described
the abysmal state of rehabilitation of the Gujarat villages and said that
hundreds of resettled families have gone back to their original villages.
"However, rehabilitation is not the only aspect, it is linked with the very
'public purpose' of the project which NBA has been challenging through the
14 years of experience and analysis", he said.
"The peopleís struggle in the Narmada valley has spread in other parts
challenging the Maheshwar, Man, Jobat, Narmada Sagar and other such dams,
raising the issue of sustainable use of the resources. NBA has also
exploring the alternative water and land management patterns, which are a
part of the Task Force report of the Government of M.P., of which NB has
been a part," said Alok Agrawal. Rajkumar Sinha of the Bargi oustees'
struggle narrated the woes of the peasants ousted by the Bargi dam, the
first dam on Narmada, for last ten years. "The struggle in Bargi calls unto
other prospective oustees not to leave their land and resources. Once you
are ousted from your land, no amount of efforts and struggles could restore
your life and dignity", he cautioned.
Mr.Desharath Patil, the veteran socialist, presided over the meeting. He
made it clear that the Sardar Sarovar Project would not benefit Maharashtra
state, but would devour 10,000 hectares of forest of the state, and
displace 5000 adivasi families in Mahrashtra. The representatives from
support organizations from Nagpur, Malegaon, Kerala & Bengal also expressed
solidarity and condemned the Maharashtra government for cheating the court
and the nation.
About five hundred people were present at the meeting including college
students from Dhule, the workers of Hamal Mapadi (manual workers') Union,
Chatrbharati, Satyashodhak Vidyarthi Sangathana, Rashtra Seva Dal,
Socialist Women's Organisation and others. A band of villagers affected by
Gosi-Khurd dam in Vidarbha (eastern Maharashtra) along with trade unionist
Com. Ms. Chandra, Mohan Kothekar and others from Nagpur came to participate
in this protest rally.
Hundreds of villagers from the Nimad villages and from the tribal belt of
Akrani-Akkalkuwa tehsil came despite the pressing agricultural operations.
(Sanjay Sangvai)