Medha Patkar ends fast after court order on rehabilitation
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NEW DELHI, April 17: Indian human rights activist Medha Patkar ended her 20-day old fast on Monday after the Supreme Court of India said that it will stop the construction of a dam on the Narmada river if the government does not rehabilitate displaced people.
Patkar, 51, who is the leader of the people's rights group Narmada Bachao Andolan (Campaign to Save the Narmada Valley, or NBA), had launched an indefinite fast along with two colleagues, Jamsingh Nargave, 50, and Bhagwatibehen Patidar, 45, on March 29. Despite their arrest and forced hospitalization by the Indian government, the three had continued their fast in the hospital. The NBA had launched the protest as it had accused the government of not rehabilitating nearly 35,000 displaced families. The government is supposed to provide two hectares of cultivable land for farming and a plot of land to construct a house to each family that is displaced by the project. The court warned that if the displaced people are not rehabilitated properly it may stop the construction of the dam. It has given May 01, 2006 as the next date of hearing and asked the governments of the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to file a report on rehabilitation of affected people. It had met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 25 asking for the rehabilitation of the displaced people. When the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) did not respond by March 28 as promised, Patkar and two others went on an indefinite hunger strike the next day. The health of all the three had declined considerably. They had survived on water, salt and lemon during these 20 days. Though the fast has been called off, the NBA has decided to continue with the agitation. Ranjit Khosla from Development Alternatives – a civil society organization – said: “We have to find ways to take the country forward, including the marginalized. We can’t stop many of these projects but we have to do these in a manner that we don’t affect other people’s livelihoods.” The NBA has been fighting for the rights of tens of thousands of displaced people in the Narmada valley in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh for nearly 20 years. The project seeks to have nearly 30 large dams which will generate electricity and also provide water for irrigation to drought-prone areas in these states. It had started attracting a large of people from diverse walks of life. Within days students unions, university teachers, civil society organizations, film stars and independent filmmakers’ joined them at their agitation site in New Delhi, close to the Indian Parliament. Many joined the fast in solidarity with the fasting NBA leaders. Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president Mona Das was happy with the outcome. She added: “ Things have changed because of the agitation. In the last 20 years nobody went to the valley, but now the government admits that rehabilitation has not been proper.” Many activists and supporters were not happy with the Supreme Court’s judgement. Activist and politician Udit Raj said: “The court judgement does not do justice to the displaced people. At the same time the court admits that rehabilitation of the displaced has not been done properly.” He lamented: “The courts as well as the governments pay extra heed to corporates these days. But when it comes to the marginalised people these institutions take decades in taking a decision. They ensure that people do not get justice.” |
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