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dam-l LS: DtE on Gujarat Water Riots



from Down to Earth, Vol 8,  No 16   January  15,  2000

http://www.oneworld.org/cse/html/dte/dte2000115/dte_fort.htm

Riots for water Faced with a severe drought, the Gujarat government 
decided to reserve water from a dam for the town of Jamnagar. Rural 
folk of Saurashtra protested. In the ensuing riots, three people died

MANISH TIWARI  Jamnagar / Rajkot

  Here is something for those who would not believe that the wars of 
this century will be fought over water-related issues. Three people 
died and 20 were injured on December 14 in Falla village, 28 km from 
Jamnagar town of Gujarat, when the police opened fire on a mob of 
about 300 people from the neighbouring rural area. The people had 
gathered to protest against the state government's decision to 
reserve water from the nearby Kankavati Dam for Jamnagar town - a 
decision favouring urban people at the cost of rural folk. The dam 
has become the only source of water for about 60 villages near Falla, 
and has very little water. This year, the rainfall recorded in this 
area was 148 millimetres (mm), compared to the annual  average of 550 
mm. People of the area point out that the groundwater has become 
saline due to overextraction (see p30: Standing the test of drought). 
But the most worrying part of the situation in Saurashtra region of 
the state is that summer is a good four months away, and nobody seems 
to have a clue as to how the administration will deal with water 
scarcity when the problem is unmanageable in the winter. Already, 14 
villages including Hadiyana, Limbuda and Jodiya are being supplied 
water from the dam by tankers

On December 20, more than 15,000 farmers assembled in Falla to 
condemn the deaths. The meet was called by the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh 
(BKS), a farmers' association that joined the agitation nine days 
after people of Falla decided to begin a protest fast on December 2.

  The BKS is affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is 
in power both at the Centre and in the state. The BKS leaders blamed 
the state government for taking a wrong decision favouring Jamnagar 
town, while ignoring the villagers need for drinking water. After the 
incident, the state government has reversed its decision and will 
reserve the water for the villages. "The decision has come only after 
a great loss to our village. We never knew that we will have to 
sacrifice three lives to ensure that we get drinking water for the 
water-scarce villages near the dam," said Veljibhai Dhamsania, 
vice-president of the Falla gram panchayat (village council), who has 
been at the forefront of the movement against the government decision.

  Reeling under a drought "After two months, when the water in the dam 
is finished, even Falla may face a severe water crisis. For the 
villages here, there is no other source of drinking water for the 
next six months," said Jethalal R Aghera, president of the Jodiya 
block panchayat in Jamnagar district. "This year, the demand is not 
for irrigation water but for drinking water. We know that the water 
in the dam is not enough to even meet our drinking water needs," said 
R Kanani, former vice-president of the Falla village council. "We are 
surviving only by God's grace. If there are no rains next year, we 
will have to migrate from the village," said Dhamsania.

  "Several governments came to power. Several water projects were 
formulated. But the water scarcity in the region has only been 
getting worse," said Gokulbhai Patel, president of the district unit 
of BKS. The people of Falla complain that none of the parties that 
came to power in the past 20 years have taken the water problem 
seriously and that the government only talks about bringing water 
from the Narmada dam project.

  While the administration is supplying drinking water by tankers, 
other uses of water like irrigation have taken a backseat. "Tankers 
can only supply drinking ater. But from where will we get water for 
cattle and irrigation?" asks a resident of Falla.

  A political opportunity The residents of the area as well as the 
district administration blame politicians for the unfortunate turn of 
events. "This conflagration is a result of the conflicts among 
leaders of the BJP. Parmanand Khattar, the state's urban development 
minister, was trying to get water for Jamnagar town which he 
represents. On the other hand, the minister in charge of Jamnagar 
district, Murubhai Bera, and Chimanbhai Sapadia, the road and 
building minister (panchayat department), have been trying to get the 
water for the villages," Dhamsania observed.

  Those in touch with the politics of the district and the state point 
out that Khattar had his eyes set on the forthcoming corporate 
elections, and wanted to get the maximum mileage for his candidates. 
Sapadia and Bera, on the other hand, had been trying to win the 
confidence of the rural folk to better the chances of their 
candidates in the approaching panchayat elections for the village, 
block and district level. People of Falla also blame Narottam Patel, 
the state's water resources minister, for not taking a timely 
decision.

"They were consolidating their vote banks, and I lost my son," rued 
Raghavji Parshottam, 46. His 21-year-old son, Kamlesh Raghavjibhai, 
was killed in the police firing. Several officials of the Jamnagar 
district administration also believe that politicians are trying to 
take advantage of the situation and are hardly bothered about the 
core issue of water. They agree that the main fight is between BJP 
politicians who are thinking about the coming panchayat elections. 
"There are no clear-cut instructions from the government to the 
district administration about how the issue should be tackled. Unless 
there is a political will to solve these problems, they will 
continue. But politicians are hardly concerned," says a senior 
official, asking not to be named. "I think that in March-April 2000, 
there will be more water riots in the district and other parts of 
Saurashtra region," says another official.

  But is the district administration without blame? Says Dhamsania: 
"When we went to the district magistrate, he told us that the 
government has decided to supply water to the villages through 
tankers. We asked him what would be the source of the water when 
water from the dam is supplied to the town. He said there is no 
alternative. Moreover, the administration made false statements in 
the press that we had stopped a gas tanker and were trying to 
overturn it. We know how dangerous it is to overturn and burn a gas 
tanker; it can destroy the entire village. We have more than 200 gas 
connections in the village. We are not morons."  The administration, 
however, is not accepting the responsibility for the police firing on 
December 14. "The police opened fire in self defence. They did not 
seek any orders from us," said Girish Murmu, district magistrate of 
Jamnagar. The government has ordered an enquiry by a retired judge.

  The unrest in Rajkot A senior district administration official in 
Rajkot said water scarcity is likely to pose a serious law and order 
problem. C J Ruparelia, chief engineer of the Gujarat Water Supply 
and Sewerage Board pointed out that Rajkot town is being supplied 
drinking water for 20 minutes in two days.

  Sudhir Joshi, a Rajkot-based leader of the Congress, said, "Come 
February-March and water riots are bound to take place across 
Saurashtra. Right now, the unrest is not so apparent as the BKS 
(which is at the centre of the struggle in Falla) is affiliated to 
the BJP. "The people of several villages such as Alamtra, Gauridad, 
Mitana and Bedi have punctured the pipeline coming from Wankaner to 
Rajkot," he pointed out. A district administration official confirmed 
this.

  However, Vijay Anadkat, deputy executive engineer, Rajkot municipal 
corporation, denied these reports, saying that the breaches had to do 
with technical snags. He pointed out that the administration was 
digging borewells as deep as 1,800 feet (about 550 metres) in the 
catchment basins of Aji, Nyari and Lalpari dams. "We also buy water 
from privately-owned bores that still have water," said Ashwini 
Kumar, sub-divisional magistrate, Rajkot. "Had it not rained in 
October in Rajkot, we would have had to invest about Rs 6 crore for 
providing drinking water through tankers in the city," said Anadkat.

  The present drought has made it clear to the people that the only 
long-term solution to the water crisis lies in rainwater harvesting 
and watershed management. The people of Falla pointed out that they 
have recently demanded the construction of five check dams in the 
village to stop rainwater. Kunwarjibhai Yadav, national president of 
the BKS, said the association is planning to take up watershed 
development projects on its own, without seeking the government's 
assistance, concluding: "We have to catch water right where it falls."





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