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dam-l LS: BBC, Reuters, AP on Maheshwar Protests
This email contains the following articles on the Maheshwar protests.
1) Author released after dam protest, BBC, 1/12/00
2) Indian author arrested in dam protest, Reuters, 1/12/00
3) More than 1,500 anti-dam protesters arrested in India, AP, 1/12/00
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BBC coverage
Author released after dam protest
Wednesday, 12 January, 2000, 05:34 GMT BBC
By Mahesh Pandey in Bhopal
Police in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh say they have released
the celebrated author Arundhati Roy and at least 500 other anti-dam
activists.
They were arrested on Tuesday morning for holding a demonstration in
defiance of orders issued by the local authorities.
Hundreds of activists led by Miss Roy - author of the prize-winning book,
the God of Small Things - had marched to Jalod village in the state's
Khargone district. Many walked five hours to make their protest.
Jalod is one among several thousand villages facing the risk of submergence
because of the construction of the Maheshwar Hydro Electric Dam.
Estimates of the number of people who took part in the march continue to vary.
Organisers say that more than 1,500 local people took part, but the police
say there were less than 500.
The activists were demanding the immediate stalling of further construction
work at the dam, and the cancellation of building permission that was
granted by the environment ministry.
The Maheshwar dam is one of 30 large dams being built on the Narmada river
that has been at the centre of controversy.
The Save the Narmada Movement - which organised the march - has been
demanding that the authorities stop further construction work at the dams
because of what they say is its failure to address the rehabilitation needs
of local people.
The organisation says that more than 60 villages will be submerged because
of this dam alone, and at least 40,000 thousand people will be displaced.
The government however says that only around 20 villages face submergence,
affecting about 20,000 people, most of whom they say have already been
shifted to rehabilitation sites.
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Reuters coverage
Indian author arrested in dam protest
08:29 a.m. Jan 11, 2000 Eastern
NEW DELHI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Indian prize-winning author Arundhati Roy was
one of some 400 protesters arrested on Tuesday when they tried to picket an
Indian dam, the Press Trust of India (PTI) said.
They were protesting against building of the dam in the central state of
Madhya Pradeshand, PTI said, and had ``defied prohibitory orders.''
Roy, whose first book ``The God of Small Things'' won Britain's Booker
Prize in 1997, has been actively involved with environmentalists protesting
against the construction of large dams in India.
India, in a bid to generate electricity and provide drinking water to
millions, has undertaken a massive dam building programme called the
Narmada Valley Development Project.
It involves the construction of about 3,200 small, medium and large dams on
the 1,300 km (800 mile) Narmada river and its tributaries.
PTI said the protesters, including Roy, would be brought before a local
magistrate. It did not say when.
Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and
redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or
delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
*****************************
AP coverage (and posted on NY Times website)
More than 1,500 anti-dam protesters arrested in India
January 12, 2000 Web posted at: 5:36 PM HKT (0936 GMT)
NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- Police arrested more than 1,500 people, including
Booker Prize-wining author Arundhati Roy, protesting a government decision
to raise the height of a massive dam that they say will deluge 60 villages
in western India, a spokesman said Wednesday.
The protesters converged Tuesday on the Maheshwar dam site in Madhya
Pradesh state, 450 miles south of New Delhi, said Shripad Dharmadhikari, a
spokesman for the Save Narmada Campaign. Those arrested were later
released.
Roy left the area, but nearly 1,200 people continued the protest,
Dharmadhikari said.
Roy has donated $35,000 from her 1997 Booker Prize money for "The God of
Small Things" to the Save Narmada Campaign. She has called for alternative
ways of achieving the government's goals, such as rain water storage,
building irrigation canals and finding other power-generating sources.
Authorities said the dam proposal will bring drinking water to 40 million
people, irrigate land and generate electricity.
But critics say the project will displace 20,000 people in 60 villages.
The Sardar Sarovar Dam -- one of the largest of thousands of planned dams
-- was raised to 289 feet in February, and the Narmada River has crept
within 10 feet of villages in three Indian states since then.
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.