NARMADA UPDATE
July 21, 1993
Submergence of the first houses in Manibeli started at 23:00 on
Friday 16, July. On the next day the water reached 76.6m, but it
has since receded. The water rose unexpectedly fast and the area
submerged was greater than expected. Mr Samish Tribapthi, the
Maharashtra State Rehabilitation Secretary, has admitted that
"The situation is out of control." Seventeen villages in
Maharashtra and 14 in Gujarat have been affected: crops have been
destroyed, wiping out the villagers' means of subsistence. An
unknown number of houses have been destroyed in perhaps 12
villages up to 18km upstream from Manibeli (estimates for the
numbers destroyed are Manibeli 18; Chimalkhedi 4; Bamni 2;
Sinduri 8; Danel 11; Mukhdi 7).
The people did not, as the authorities claimed they would, "run
away like rats". Narayanbhai Tadvi and Keshubhai Tadvi, who live
in the lowest houses in Manibeli, have described how the police
dragged them from their houses when the water had reached up to
their waists The villagers have proved their unshakable courage
and determination: the slogan "we will drown before we move"
would have come true (not only in Manibeli, but also in other
villages) if the police had not intervened. After being pulled out
of the water, the villagers preferred to stay in the rain than to go
to the tin shed "flood shelters" built by the police. The police have
not allowed the people to return to their houses to rescue their
belongings. The people have moved to the upper part of Manibeli,
the hamlet of Vadi Pada, which they are not allowing the police to
enter. The villagers have preferred to go hungry rather than to
accept food from the police. Fifty people are still in the village
where Medha has secretly rejoined them. Three villagers have left
to tell outsiders what has happened and to participate in the
protest being held in Delhi.
The victims of the submergence are in a desperate situation.
Keshubhai told us on the evening of the 19th that he would have
preferred to have died in the water than to live in his present
situation where he a has lost everything and is totally dependent
upon others. He is firmly resolved to rebuild his house after the
monsoon. All the Vadgam families are determined to go back to
their village. There is a strong solidarity between the people in
the valley: the villagers from MP are ready to lend fields to those
who have lost their own so that they can fend for themselves; the
refugees can rely on a welcome in the other villages.
On Saturday, 17 July, at least 90 people were arrested in
Ahmedabad when they attempted to protest against the
destruction of Vadgam. The people arrested included
representatives of 18 or more Gujarati organisations.
LEGAL BATTLE
The victims of the illegal submergence are demanding justice. A
first judicial victory has just been won. On 18 July, the Gujarat
High Court directed the state government to give Rs2,500 (US$90)
as an interim relief payment to the 18 Vadgam families whose
houses and belongings were washed away in a flood due to the
backwater effect of the dam. NBA lawyer Girishbhai Patel and
researcher Bela Bhatia have been authorised by the High Court to
find other families who have been affected in this way.
The NBA intends to continue fighting in the courts. According to a
Supreme Court decision, later reiterated by the Gujarat High
Court, the people should have been resettled 6 months ago. Under
the 1979 Tribunal Award and the 1985 World Bank loan and credit
agreements the people should have been resettled one year ago.
Under these conditions the submergence must be considered
illegal.
MP OFFICIAL CALLS FOR HALT TO CONSTRUCTION
In a letter to the Chief Secretary, Government of Gujarat, dated
15 June, 1993, the NVDA director of rehabilitation for MP, KP
Singh, asked the authorities "to stop further construction of the
dam." Singh gave two reasons: 1) Gujarat has not proven that it
can resettle the targeted number of MP families ("Out of 14,124
families from MP who have given their choice to resettle in
Gujarat, only 1190 (only 8.42%) against a target of 3100 have
been resettled in Gujarat." The NBA estimates that of these 1190
families at least 300 have returned to their original villages in
MP.); 2) MP cannot resettle the first 30 villages in the state to be
submerged because of the local opposition to the dam ("PAPs from
10-11 villages [names of villages] are with the anti-dam Andolan
and are not ready to move. We cannot even enter some of these
villages . . . ")
NAMES SUGGESTED FOR REVIEW
The NBA received a letter on 20 July from the Ministry of Water
Resources which suggested 5 names for the "Special Group" to
reassess the project. The NBA are unhappy with 4 of the
suggested people and are putting forward their own nominees.
COMMAND AREA
People living in the SSP command area have also been victims of
the authorities' irresponsible lack of preparedness. The village of
Puniyad and 4000ha of land have been flooded because a partly-
built secondary canal redirected the normal run-off of rainwater.
SSP oustees resettled in the Gujarat plains have been seriously
affected by floods due to the bad drainage of many of the low-
lying sites. We met people in a desperate situation in Kateshwar
and Malu, not only because of flooding but also due to problems
such as saline drinking water, illness and lack of fuelwood.
NBA STRATEGY
On 17 July the NBA announced their new plan of action. :
1) The Government must abide by its commitment to set up a
group to review SSP.
2) The whole of the Narmada Valley Development Project must be
questioned (Bargi etc.).
3) The Government must react to the serious violation of
fundamental rights that the submergence has caused. If the
Government continues the project without taking into account the
views of the affected people, then the people will struggle to the
end: the final sacrifice.
On 18 July Baba Amte left his village of Kasravad in MP and
arrived in New Delhi on 22nd, after having given press
conferences and public meetings in Indore and Bhopal. On 22nd, 5-
600 people from the valley started a sit-in in Delhi in solidarity
with all those flooded from their homes, to demand that the
review of SSP be started, and that the entire NVDP be reviewed.
On 28 July, the protesters will leave Delhi for Manibeli where
people will gather from 1-5 August.
On 6 August (the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima) the
Samarpit Dal - Self-Sacrifice Squad will face the waters.
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Written by Christian Ferrie' of FIAN (France) in Baroda.
Deciphered and translated by Patrick McCully.