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dam-l IRN PR on Narmada valley/LS
This follows up on what I sent earlier.
-apologies for duplicate postings-
INTERNATIONAL RIVERS NETWORK
PRESS ADVISORY 11 August 1999
Contact:
Juliette Majot, Executive Director, International Rivers Network
juliette@irn.org/+1 510 848 1155
Susanne Wong, Campaigns Assistant, International Rivers Network
swong@irn.org/+1 510 848 1155
40 PEOPLE ARRESTED IN PROTEST AGAINST INDIAN DAM
Indian Government Called Upon to Halt Further Dam Construction
Forty people determined to face submergence in the rising waters behind the
$8.1 billion Sardar Sarovar Dam were arrested on Wednesday evening in
Domkhedi village in India. As the police carried them away, a steady stream
of villagers took their places in the waist-deep water. The villagers and
activists have vowed to remain on their lands and die in the waters now
rising in the Narmada Valley rather than be forced onto resettlement sites.
They insist that life in resettlement sites is not worth living. Among
those arrested are Medha Patkar, Ranyabhai Padvi and Devrambhai Kanera. At
the time of this release, the Chief Secretary of the state of Maharashtra
was on his way to Domkhedi.
India's leading opposition movement, Narmada Bachao Andolan, is calling on
media outlets throughout the world to reach the Narmada Valley to record
the struggle as it continues. A full release prepared just prior to the
arrests is attached. Updates will follow ASAP.
Leading US Organization Denounces Government of India
International Rivers Network denounces the Indian government for its role
in the human tragedy now unfolding in the Narmada Valley. IRN calls on the
Indian government to halt any further construction of the Sardar Sarovar
Dam. IRN has opposed the project, and has worked closely with the Narmada
Bachao Andolan for the past ten years.
"By building this dam, the government of India has condemned thousands of
its people to a life not worth living. Its actions have ripped apart the
Narmada Valley, and destroyed the river-based culture that has thrived
there. It is no wonder that villagers living in the Narmada Valley would
rather face the rising waters than walk away from their land, their
livelihood, their entire way of life," says Juliette Majot, Executive
Director of International Rivers Network.
The government of India has yet to give authorization to increase the dam
from its current height of 85 meters to a final height of 163 meters. If
the dam and its associated irrigation system are completed, it will force
the eviction of more than half a million people from their lands.
"By approving the construction of an 85 meter-high dam on the Narmada
River, the government of India has violated international standards of
environmental protection and respect for human rights. A decision to
increase the height of the dam (and thereby, increase the number of people
who will suffer as a direct result) will further erode international
respect for the country's leadership," says Majot.
Field Notes
Majot spent July 4 -16 in India, in villages now flooded by the monsoon
rains behind the Sardar Sarovar Dam. "This is not a natural disaster caused
by the monsoon," said Majot. "It is a manmade disaster caused by a dam for
which the government of India is responsible."
While thousands of people now stand to be displaced or drowned due to
flooding caused by the dam, people already resettled face severe problems.
Resettlement in fragmented units has torn apart families, communities and
cultures. In rehabilitation sites, people face shortages of land and water,
and many suffer from lack of fuelwood, fodder and poor sanitation.
In resettlement sites visited by Majot, villagers reiterated that
conditions were unacceptable: land offered was inadequate for cultivation;
freshwater supplies were insufficient or unavailable; housing was built of
inappropriate materials for the climate (tin walls and roofs, no
ventilation). With no access to forest products such as fruits, firewood,
and medicinal plants, villagers - particularly children - were experiencing
health problems and hunger.
"What choice do we have but to submerge ourselves? I've tried to find the
person to answer this question, but there is no one," Mr. Batu Narmadya
told Majot in the village of Domkhedi.
Photos of affected villages will be available today (8/11) after 1PM PST on
the web at www.irn.org. Further background info is available at
www.narmada.org. Contact Juliette Majot or Susanne Wong at International
Rivers Network at +1 510-848-1155 for more info.
# # # # #
International Rivers Network supports local communities working to protect
their rivers and watersheds. We work to halt destructive river development
projects, and to encourage equitable and sustainable methods of meeting
needs for water, energy and flood management.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Press Release - Tue, 10 Aug 1999 08:20 GMT
NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN
B-13, Shivam Flats, Ellora Park,
Baroda - 390007 ( Ph.0265-382232)
NARMADA VILLAGERS AND ACTIVISTS DARE THE SUBMERGENCE OF SSP,
STANDING THREE FEET IN SUBMERGENCE WATER IN DOMKHEDI
Government Looks Other Way: Water 2 feet below Jalsindhi House
A band of over sixty people have been braving the submergence water of the
Sardar Sarovar Project in the Narmada Valley in Domkhedi village from
Tuesday (Aug. 10) night with Medha Patkar, Ranyabhai Padvi and Devrambhai
and others standing in the three feet deep submergence water since early
morning of 11th. The people are firm on not to move out of the land despite
the unjust submergence. About fifty Maharashtra police were camping outside
the village knowing fully well the crisis.
In Jalsindhi, another Satyagraha place, the water was hardly two feet below
the Satyagraha house and the three main activists, Sitarambhai,
Luhariyabhai and Rehmat and others are prepared to face the submergence
waters. The government officials visited the site to 'inform' the people
and left.
The submergence water started entering the Satyagraha house, "Narmadai" in
Domkhedi (Maharashtra state), by late night of August 10. The Maharashtra
police toured the village with a warning to go to safe places. The people
and activists made it clear that they would not move out of the Satyagraha
house in face of the submergence.
The backwaters of Narmada had risen alarmingly by noon on Tuesday. At
Rajghat (Badwani), the water rose from 118 meters to 127 meters, thus
threatening the villages with submergence. The water rose up to 99 meters
at the damsite by Wednesday morning.
The people staying in the Satyagraha place including Medha, Ranya Dahya
(elder) and Devrambhai are resolved not to move out. "We oppose the unjust
submergence and destruction imposed on the people and nature in the Narmada
valley by the system", they declared. " The people will resist their unjust
displacement and threats of submergence even at the cost of their lives".
The confrontation with the submergence comes as a sequel to the Satyagraha
against the displacement and unjust submergence. The additional submergence
is a result of construction which increased the height of the dam from 80.3
meters to 85 meters excluding 3 feet high humps.
Devrambhai Kanera has been a senior activist in the struggle having his
small piece of land in the plains of Nimad. Ranyabhai Padvi, from the
adivasi village Mukhadi from Maharashtra, has been the among the founders
of Narmada Dharangrasta Samiti in 1987, which sparked off the protest
against the displacement and the dam. Sitarambhai Patidar is a peasant from
Nimad and an elderly activist of NBA. Luvariyabhai hails from the village
of Jalsindhi, and his house is the first house to be submerged in the
village. Rehmat has been a senior activist with NBA.
According to latest information, the police contingent left from Nandurbar,
the district headquarters of the submergence area in Maharashtra on
Wednesday morning.
Sanjay Sangvai
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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