Social activist Medha Patkar, who leads the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), on Saturday alleged that water has entered villages due to the rising water level of the Sardar Sarovar dam and over this she started a Jal Satyagraha in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh. She along with other NBA colleagues have sat on Jal Satyagraha demanding immediate opening of the gates of the Sardar Sarovar dam and complete rehabilitation of the displaced families, and she has said that she will continue the ‘Jal Satyagraha’ until the problem is resolved.
At the Jal Satyagraha Sthal in Chhoti Kasrawad, Patkar claimed that the water level of the Sardar Sarovar dam was being raised illegally in violation of the Central Water Commission’s rules and regulations. She said representatives of various villages, especially women from Barwani and Dhar districts, gathered for the protest.
Patkar alleged that thousands of houses were destroyed due to failure to control the gates of the Sardar Sarovar dam in time and release of water from the Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar dams.
She said the water level of Sardar Sarovar dam has reached 135 to 136 metres and the gates of Omkareshwar dam were opened on Friday night. Patkar said in such a situation all the gates of Sardar Sarovar dam should have been opened and the water level should have been managed at 122 metres. She claimed that houses have been destroyed not only due to excessive rains but also due to the rise in water level in the area.
Patkar said that due to this, people of Maharashtra and Gujarat have also been affected. She said that neither agricultural land was acquired nor rehabilitation was done in the area. She said that this was the responsibility of Narmada Control Authority and Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited. She said that till the problem is solved, the ‘water satyagraha’ will continue.
The activist claimed that houses and agricultural land were similarly destroyed in over 170 villages in the Sardar Sarovar area due to rising water levels during last year’s monsoon.
