India: Police Violence

NBA support 23.07.2002 14:06 Themen: Soziale Kämpfe
Cops stürmen erneut ein Dorf in der Überflutungszone des MAAN Dammes. Erklärung der Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA)

Police attacks Maan dam affected village, tries to submerge it in cold blood

Datum: Sat, 20 Jul 2002
Narmada Bachao Andolan
E-mail :  nobigdam@sancharnet.in





Madhya Pradesh government prepares to submerge Maan affected villages in cold
blood; Closes sluice gates, Adivasi women arrested, taken from Dhar to unknown
place.

The Madhya Pradesh administration have begun the preparations to submerge the
Maan dam affected villages in cold blood today, by arresting the affected
adivasi women from the first affected village Khedi Balwadi, razing their
houses and impounding the waters behind the dam by closing the sluice gates.

As per reports, 400 police entered Village Khedi Balwadi today, along with
laborers in order to demolish the houses of the adivasis and remove them from
the village. As the affected adivasis and especially the women resisted the
force, the police arrested one truck full of adivasi women and took them to
Dhar. Press people who saw them at the Dhar police station state that the
women have now been taken from Dhar to an unknown place. It is also reported
that the male police arresting the women in Khedi Balwadi intimidated and beat
them up and committed several excesses.

Despite the fact that hundreds of families in the villages slated to be
submerged by the Maan Project such as Khedi - Balwadi, Bhuwada, Khanpura,
Rehtiaon, Gadhaghat, Golpura, are living behind the dam, the government began
impounding the waters of the dam by closing the sluice gates ten days ago.
Because of closing the sluice gates, the waters of the dam has begun to rise
rapidly. It may be noted that the rains have almost failed this monsoon, and
it is only one night's rain that is being impounded. It is this rain that
threatens to impound the villages because of the closed sluice gates. It may
also be noted that the canal network has not been completed so this
impoundment is meaning less, and seems to be aimed only at submerging hapless
adivasis.

It may be noted that this cold blooded action on part of the state government
comes on the heels of the week long visit of Shri Prabhash Joshi and Shri B.D
Sharma, the experts appointed on the Grievance Redressal Authority for the Maan
dam oustees which concluded on the 18th of July after meetings in the villages
and public hearing in Jeerabad. During the visit, it became extremely clear
that the rehabilitation of the affected adivasis has not happened as per due
process and that submergence will lead to sure pauperization. The villagers
had demanded before the Experts of Grievance Redressal Authority during their
recent visit that the sluice gates be immediately opened and that it be
ensured that no submergence takes place before land based rehabilitation takes
place.

The NBA condemns this deliberate and cold blooded action on part of the
government and demands that the sluice gates be immediately opened, that the
women and other adivasis arrested today be immediately released, and that the
state ensure that no submergence takes place before rehabilitation is
completed.

Failing this, the Maan affected adivasis rendered homeless by the state
government both because of the deliberately created submergence and by
demolishing the houses of the affected adivasis, will once more have to take
recourse to indefinite action.

Alok Agarwal



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