Water reaches up to chin level of Oustees !!!
Oustees of Omkareshwar
and Indira Sagar dam fighting for their rights and life need your support
Oustees standing
in dam water for last 7 days
Dear Friends,
The
oustees of the Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar dam in
the Narmada valley in Madhya Pradesh, who are fighting for their rights
and
their life are in the need of your urgent support. The Government and
the
company NHDC Limited which has built these dams are illegally and in
violation
of the Orders of the High Court and Supreme Court raising the water
level in
these dams, causing submergence of lands and houses of thousands of
oustees
without rehabilitation. 34 oustees of Omkareshwar dam along with senior
activist of Narmada Bachao Andolan Chittaroopa Palit have been on
“Jal-Satyagraha”
and are standing in the Omkareshwar dam water for last 7 days. Many of
these
jal satyagrahies have developed blisters in their feet.Water has now
reached up to their chin level & even a little more rise in the
water level would be fatal. Water in some of the villages affected by
Indira Sagar Dam has completely submerged the houses & fields.
OMKARESHWAR
DAM
In May 2011, the Apex Court ruled that the authorities
are obliged to allot a land for land and a minimum of 2 ha. of land, well in
advance of the completion of dam construction. However, although an entire year
has passed since the judgment, the State has failed to allot land to the over
2500 land-holder families. It may noted that recently even the Grievance
Redressal Authority has said in its orders that the rehabilitation policy has
not been followed and all the oustees of Omkareshwar dam should be given land in
lieu of land. Over 1000 families remain to be allotted even house-plots.
Various other entitlements remain to be provided.
Yet, the State Government and the project authorities
have announced that they intend to raise the water level of the Omkareshwar dam
to 193 meters from the earlier level of 189 meters and on 25th
August, 2012 when the authorities raised the level of the reservoir by 1.5
meters, the oustees started Jal Satyagraha and since then they are standing in
the water of Omkareshwar dam.
INDIRA
SAGAR DAM
Similarly, in the Indira Sagar dam area also thousands
of oustees are yet to be given land and other rehabilitation entitlements.
There are orders of Supreme Court and High Court that the water level in Indira
Sagar dam cannot be raised beyond level of 260 meters. In spite of this, the
government has started raising the water level beyond 260 meters. In protest,
Jal Satyagraha has started today at three places in the Indira Sagar dam
submergence areas in villages Khardana, Badgaon Mal and Badkhaliya of Districts
Harda and Khandwa.
The oustees of the Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar dam urgently
need your support.
We request you to :
- Write to Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh and Collector, Khandwa asking him to bring the water level down to 189 meters in Omkareshwar dam and 260 meters in Indira Sagar dam and to rehabilitate all the oustees by giving them land and other rehabilitation entitlements.(Petitions are attached below, pl. send e-mail, and fax)
- Come to the Narmada Valley and join the Jal Satyagraha of the oustees.
- Hold demonstration/other programmes in support of Jal Satyagraha.
Thank you for your support,
In solidarity,
Alok Agarwal, Radheshyam Tirole, Sakubai, Radhabai
Note : Khandwa is on Delhi-Mumbai, Howrah- Mumbai rail
line. 3 hrs by road from Indore, 4 hrs by train from Bhopal
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