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DAM-L LS: Arundhati's role valuable: Medha Patkar (fwd)
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Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2000 17:11:22 -0800 (PST)
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subject: LS: Arundhati's role valuable: Medha Patkar
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Arundhati role valuable: Medha Patkar
The Hindu, Nov. 5, 2000
By Gargi Parsai
NEW DELHI, NOV. 4. ``Ms. Arundhati Roy's role in the Narmada
Bachao Andolan is helpful and valuable. It is the kind of role all
thinking persons are supposed to play. Writers like Ms. Arundhati
Roy have a special reach which is genuine. She is really concerned.
Very clear in ideology and strategy. We never see her over-stepping.
She is quite humble and very frank.''
This was what Narmada Bachao Andolan leader, Ms. Medha Patkar
said about the Booker prize winner, who is supporting the struggle
against the Sardar Sarovar dam. Ms. Patkar's words set at rest the
criticism that Ms. Roy was getting to be an embarrassment to the
Andolan with her utterances against the Supreme Court verdict
allowing the resumption of the construction of the Narmada dam in
Gujarat.
Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Patkar said similar attempts were made
earlier to drive a wedge between her and Baba Amte, when the latter
came out in support of the struggle.
In turn when Ms Roy was asked her sense of the Supreme Court
judgment on the sidelines of a seminar here on Friday, she said: ``It
is
a blow to us urbanities. Now, we are looking to the people in the
valley to take the lead. We are behind them instead of leading from
front.''
On Friday, participating in a seminar to analyse the verdict, Ms.
Patkar said the people in the valley were coming to Delhi next week
for `jan sunvai' (public hearing) in the hope that the President, Mr.
K.R. Narayanan - who has in the past shown that he has a heart that
beats for the people - would get the strength to say that the apex
court's verdict could not be implemented if the tribals, farmers and
peasants had to be kept alive. They have right to live. ``What Delhi
says shall be the last leg of our struggle and appeal for a hearing.''
Prominent among those who attended the seminar were eminent
journalist Mr. Prabhas Joshi, social activists Mr. Surendra Mohan,
Mr. Vijay Paranjpaye, educationist Mr. Krishna Kumar, former
Water Resources Secretary, Mr. Ramaswamy Iyer, former Law
Minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan, Supreme Court advocate Mr. Prashant
Bhushan and Ms. Roy.
Meanwhile, two BJP MPs from Gujarat have urged Mr. Narayanan
not to grant audience to Ms. Patkar and Ms. Roy or entertain their
request for stalling the process of the construction of the dam.
``Though the persons losing their lands and houses due to
submergence will be put to hardships, this dam will be useful to
people who are hard hit by scarcity of water in the drought affected
regions in Kutch, Saurashtra and North Gujarat,'' Mr. P.S. Gadhavi
and Mr. A.D. Dave said in a letter to the President.
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