Narmada Bachao Andolan

2, Sai Nagar, Mata Chowk, Khandwa, M.P.

Phone : 094259 -28007, 094253 - 94606

E-mail : nobigdam bsnl.in

URGENT APPEAL FOR SUPPORT

16^th June 2007

Dear friends,

Today is the 13^th day of the indefinite dharna at
Khandwa of the people of the Indira Sagar and
Omkareshwar dams on the Narmada river. It is also
the 11^th day of the indefinite fast of five
representatives of the struggle who have been on
fast since the 6^th of June 2007.

The dharna began on the 4^th of June, 2007 with a
resounding rally of over 12,000 oustees of the
Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar dams in the town of
Khandwa followed by a gherao of the NHDC (Narmada
Hydro-Development Corporation) which is building
the dam. Since then 5000 oustees have been
sitting on dharna in Khandwa with the resolve
that they would go back to their villages only
when their demands are met.

The villagers have taken complete financial and
logistical responsibility for the program, and
the atmosphere is heady. Food for 5000 people is
being cooked and served twice a day with the
condiments and grain and dal brought by each
individual villager and premises given to us by
the local Gurdwara. There is a great deal of song
and dance and sharing of experiences. Desks for
filing complaints and counseling are also being
run. Such has been the dire nature of the R&R
process in the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar dams,
that more than 11,000 complaints have been
prepared and filed with the NHDC in the last 13
days.

Dharna and Fast to continue until all demands are met

The activists sitting on indefinite fast are
Krishnabai, Dalit woman from Village Bichola Mal,
District Harda, ISP submergence, Surajbai, Dalit
woman from Village Bichola Mal, District Harda,
ISP submergence, Ashok Sharma, Village Gogalgaon,
Omkareshwar dam submergence, Bhagwanbhai Sardar
Sarovar submergence, senior activist of the NBA,
and Chittaroopa Palit, activist of the Narmada
Bachao Andolan.

Today is the 11^th day of their fast. Their
spirits and their resolve to take the struggle to
victory is very high. Naturally, however, their
health is declining and weakness has come in.
Particularly Krishnabai, a frail 32 kgs. is in
great pain and is continuously vomiting.

Our demands

Our main demands in the Indira Sagar area are that

(1) Agricultural land should be provided to the
villagers who are facing fresh submergence in the
thousands of acres of land now found in the
surveys.

(2) All adult sons and adult unmarried daughters
of cultivators should be provided land or SRG as
directed by the High Court in the Order dated
8.09.2007 and which the State Government is
refusing to comply with.

(3) Landless families should be provided 5 acres
land in the draw-down of the Indira Sagar
reservoir, along with irrigation facilities.

(4) Employment guarantee schemes should be
provided in every R&R site such as New Harsud,
Kalapatha, Bangarda where people are undergoing
starvation.

(5) Thousands of houses that have been
deliberately and illegally been left out of the
acquisition process after surveys preceding
Section 4 Notification and after in many cases
the service of notices under Section 9 of the
Land Acquisition Act should be included and
compensation and R&R entitlements provided.

(6) Every R&R site should be leveled or where
people have already spent thousands of rupees to
build plinths in the undulating wastes of the R&R
sites, compensation should be paid for the plinth
filling.

For Omkareshwar, the demands are

(1) Agricultural land for the cultivators,

(2) land for the adult sons and unmarried adult
daughters of the cultivators, as per the R&R Plan
of 1993 for the Omkareshwar Project

(3) Land for the landless families as per the
condition of the environmental clearance.

(4) Better facilities including sufficient potable water in the R&R sites.

Callousness of the state and the lack of response

Since the beginning of the dharna, the people
have been facing the callousness of the State
government who have till today not bothered to
address the grave concerns of the people or
initiate any serious negotiations. On the
contrary in the last few days, they have been
trying to bring the dharna to a halt. Two days
ago, the water supply was stopped for 17 hours.
Finally, only when the women blocked the streets,
the authorities were forced to resume the water
supply. The refusal of the state to respond to
the popular struggle is extremely troubling but
the people are determined that they will compel
the state to accept their demands through
democratic struggle.

High Court stipulates land for land

On the 18^th of May 2007, in the case of the
Omkareshwar dam, the Madhya Pradesh High Court
had passed an Order directing that the gates of
the dam should not be closed until all the
villagers are rehabilitated with agricultural
land as per the 1993 R&R Plan of the Project and
only after giving them 6 months breathing time
after the completion of R&R.

Supreme Court permits dam filling

However the State of Madhya Pradesh and NHDC
filed Special Leave Petitions and on the 11^th of
June, the decision of the High Court was stayed
by the Supreme Court without going into the
merits of the matter. The State Government and
the NHDC stated on affidavit that of the 30
villages affected by the Omkareshwar dam, 25
villages would not be affected by the rise in
level up to 189 meters, and the other 5 villages
are already vacated.

However, the Supreme Court declined to pass any
order on the land question and sent it back to
the High Court while disposing off the SLPs. The
matter begins in the High Court from the 18^th of
June, 2007. After the SC decision, the dam gates
were closed on the 13^th of June. The waters have
reached crest level 184 meters in the last two
days already and are rising further.

Repression in Omkareshwar villages after SC Order, resistance by people

It may be noted that the in their affidavits in
the High Court and Supreme Court, the State
Government and the NHDC stated that of the 30
villages, only 5 villages are in the submergence
at 189 meters and the other 25 villages will not
be affected at 189 meters. Moreover, they also
stated that even from these 5 villages, in
Gunjari where 22 houses were denied compensation
after having been given Section 9 notices not
once but twice, would not be affected at 189
meters and its back-waters.

However immediately after the SC order, the State
government started severing electricity and water
in several villages like Ekhand and Gogalgaon by
removing transformers. The villagers are
resisting the disconnection of facilities
fiercely in the villages. At the same time, on
the 13^th the people on dharna ghearoed the
Khandwa Collectorate and demanded restoration of
facilities and removal of police. As a result,
the transformers have been re-connected. The
villagers have now stated that since it has been
said that they will not be affected at 189
meters, no officials should enter their villages.

Gunjari satyagraha begins against illegal submergence

Meanwhile, the 22 houses of Gunjari and several
more houses of Bakhatgarh and Sailani and 115
families of Jiroth hamlet of Village Kelwa are
likely to be submerged in the next one or two
days - Gunjari probably in the next few hours. In
the face of the complete denial of their
entitlements and the false affidavits of the
State and Project authorities, the people of
Gunjari have taken a decision to face the waters
but not move. The people of the other villages
have decided to join them in their satyagraha.

Appeal for support

As you can see, events are unfolding very
quickly. Meanwhile the dharna and the indefinite
fast continues and is taking its toll on the
fasters. You are aware that both Indira Sagar and
Omkareshwar dams are complete and are on the
verge of full reservoir filling which will cause
full submergence, are only stopped by the stay on
the full filling of both these dams because of
non-fulfillment of R&R, due to legal intervention
by the NBA.

To ensure that this program of struggle against
the tyranny and impunity of the NHDC and the
State government and the fulfillment of the legal
and just rights of the oustees, we need your help
and support. We request you to:

1. Come to Khandwa to extend your support to struggling oustees.

2. Write to Chief Minister and Governor of

Madhya Pradesh asking them to fulfill the demands
of oustees.

Shri Balram Jakhar, Shri Shivraj Singh Chowhan

Governor, Chief Minister,

Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,

Raj Bhawan, Vallabh Bhawan,

Bhopal. Bhopal

Phone: (0755) 4223436/4080300 Phone: (0755) 2441033/2442231

Fax : (0755) 4080112 Fax : (07550 2441781/2540501

3. Organise support progammes at your places.

We hope, as always, your will extend your full
support to ensure the rights of thousands of
struggling oustees.

In solidarity ,

Bhagwan Mukati, Alok Agarwal, Chittaroopa Palit, Krishnabai

Note:

Khanwa is on main Mumbai - Itarsi rail route

Khandwa is 3 hours by road from Indore