Narmada Valley satyagraha

by: Christine Penington

Narmada Valley: After over a month's intense Bhoomi Haq Satyagraha (Land right Satyagraha), women, men and children from villages across the Narmada valley have suspended their peaceful protests - giving the government until 25 June to fulfil the processes which they have started in the wake of the Satyagraha (truthful nonviolent action).

Activists are requesting the government make rehabilitation agreements with all the people who face submergence during the next monsoon, declare all the families(around 1300) who are not currently declared as "project affected", procure the available land from private farmers, grant forest land to those due to be displaced,and compensate those who lost their belongings and crops last year.

At the end of May 125 tribal men and women were arrested by the District administration and held in Khargone jail for six days after holding a peaceful sit-down. Local campaigners say many of the protesters were beaten during their arrests. For images of the Bhoomi Haq Satyagraha see http://www.narmada.org/images/bhoomihaq2004/index.html

The people of Narmada Valley have been resisting the building of the Sarar Sardavar dam for seventeen years. The dam is expected to produce 1,450 megawatts of power, furnish 30 million people with water and provide employment 600,000 people. These benefits will come at the cost of 91,000 acres of flooded forest and agriculture land and the displacement of 200,000 people.

NOTE: Bhoomi Hakk (Land Right) Satyagraha

Over 200 tribal families from the nine villages on the banks of Narmada, affected by the 110 meters of the Sardar Sarovar dam, have launched the Bhoomi Hakk Satyagraha (Land right Satyagraha) by occupying the denuded forest land in Nandurbar district (Mahartashtra) on Saturday (May 8).

This was in response to the repeated failure on the part of government to provide them with land-based resettlement, despite repeated assurances, recommendations by Government appointed committees and written declarations. As the monsoon approaches with the danger of yet another submergence looming large, the Narmada tribals are left with no option but facing destitution and submergence for the sixth consecutive year, with over 1500 families from Maharashtra and over 10000 families from Madhya Pradesh facing submergence.

To follow the latest information on the Bhoomi Haq Satyagraha visit http://www.narmada.org/