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DAM-L LS: German Protest Against Maheshwar (fwd)
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subject: LS: German Protest Against Maheshwar
Sender: owner-irn-narmada@netvista.net
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We recently received the following report about a banner drop in Germany to
protest the Maheshwar Dam.
18 September 2000, Berlin
At dawn, five activists climbed the Marien kirche in central Berlin and
unfurled a banner which called for:
- An end to the construction of the Maheshwar Dam, Madhya Pradesh, India.
- An end to Siemens' involvement in the Maheshwar dam project.
- An end to the privatisation of natural resources
- Support for next week's protests against the IMF and World Bank in Prague.
The Maheshwar dam is one of 30 mega-dams and 135 medium sized dams in the
Narmada valley which will displace millions of people from their homes and
livelihoods. The Maheshwar dam itself will displace 40,000 people.
The dam's supporters claim that the displaced will be resettled and
provided with land. However, the Madhya Pradesh government admits that no
agricultural land is available. In fact, of the 14,000 hectares required
for the 7000 project affected families, only 25 hectares have been made
available.
The Maheshwar dam is the first of the Narmada dams to be placed in the
hands of the private sector. It will provide electricity at four times the
current price and is expected to barely exceed 10% of its projected
capacity. Despite the publication of a highly critical official report, and
the withdrawal of a number of major TNCs, Siemens is still intent on
supplying turbines for the dam.
In solidarity with the millions of people of the Narmada Valley who will be
uprooted, and with the mass resistance movement headed by the Narmada
Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Movement), the activists call for an immediate
end to the construction of the dam.
The Maheshwar dam is symptomatic of the wider processes of neo-liberal
globalisation, lead by TNCs and institutions such as the IMF and World
Bank, which places profits before the welfare of people and the environment.
CLOSE DOWN THE IMF and WORLD BANK.
THE DAM WILL NOT BE BUILT.
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