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dam-l LS: NBA Activists Occupy Maheshwar; Thousands Arrested
Press Note: Dam Site-Jalud
11th January, 2000
NBA Activists Occupied the Maheshwar Dam Site; Thousands Arrested from
Dharna Site
Inspite of heavy police protection, as planned earlier, the NBA activists
walking throughout the night occupied the destructive Maheshwar dam site
today morning at 6.45 am and stopped the work on the dam. Among the 4000
odd affected people and activists who captured the site, senior NBA
activist Chittaroopa Palit, noted writer-novelist Arundhati Roy, veteran
Gandhian Jyotibhai Desai, prominent film makers Pradip Kishan and Jharna
Jhaveri and large number of supporters from Delhi, Bombay, Kerala, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Indore are also there. About 1500 people were prevented by the
police on the way itself from moving towards the site.
More than 1500 people, who were on dharna at dam site and before police,
were arrested at about 1.00 pm with force by Madhya Pradesh Police. Police
also misbehaved with the people including Arundhati Roy, Jharna Jhaveri and
Chittaroopa Palit. Also, Padhri Verma & Annapurnabai of village Pathrad
and Chandrashekar & Chandu of village Sulgaon were beaten terribly by
police inside the bus while taking them to the police station.
Earlier at 6.45 am the people started dharna at the site with slogans and
songs and the officials including the Khargone District Collector
Mr.Bhopalsingh came forward to pursue the activists to withdraw their
agitation. The talk went on till 10.45 am but without result. At about 1.00
pm about 1500 people including Arundhati and others were arrested
forcefully and taken to Mandaleshwar Police Station.
It may be recollected that for the past 3 years strong agitation is going
on against the destructive Maheshwar Dam and it was exactly two years back
on 11th January 1998 the Maheshwar Dam was occupied for more than 20 days.
That occupation has led the M.P.Governmentto set up the Task Force. This
Task Force after ten months study has recommended a comprehensive review of
Maheshwar Project to reasses with cost-benefit ratio and the viability and
disirability of the Project. However, instead of acting on this
recommendation of its own Task Force the Madhya Pradesh Government allowed
the Private Company S.Kumars' to push ahead with the project and supported
it by unleasing repression on the affected people. The occupation of the
dam site beginning in a few hours is demanding complete stoppage of work on
the project and a comprehensive review as recommended by the Task Force.
It is to be noted that, although the project will have a proposed installed
capacity of 400 MW, the average firm power will be only 82 MW, and power
production in the 8 non-monsoon months will not be more than one-and-a half
hours a day. Yet the cost of power from this project will be prohibitively
high - an average of Rs. 6 to 8 per unit, with the cost of peaking power
being Rs. 8 to 10 per unit at point of production. It may be recalled that
the project was privatized in 1994 and handed over to the S. Kumars, and
that the S. Kumars have, even prior to the financial closure, inflated the
project costs by 5 times from Rs. 465 crores to Rs. 2000 crores in the
course of just 5 years.
NBA along with its vast number of supporters from the state and all over
the country, warns the state government that truth and reality cannot be
suppressed through repressive method of forceful arrest, etc upon the
no-violent agitators and it will carry on strong agitation against the
destructive Maheshwar Project.
(Alok Agrawal) Delhi Contact: 6426783 & 6237724