MP: Sardar Sarovar dam project affected people protest in Dhar

Hundreds of people in Madhya Pradesh living in the submergence area of the Gujarat-based Sardar Sarovar Dam on Tuesday blocked NH-3 in Dhar district for six hours demanding proper rehabilitation in a protest spearheaded by Medha Patkar of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). A long queue of vehicles was seen on both the sides of the Mumbai-Agra highway due to the blockade near Khalghat toll Post in the district, around 90 kms from Indore.

The section of the highway remained blocked from around 12 noon till 6 pm. Speaking to PTI after the blockade was removed, Dhar Superintendent of Police Aditya Pratap Singh said, "It is a matter of law and order. Appropriate legal steps will be taken against those involved in the protest".

Patkar has demanded the gates of the dam in Gujarat be opened immediately on humanitarian grounds in view of submergence of human settlements and agriculture land due to Narmada river backwater in Barwani, Khargone, Dhar and Alirajpur districts in MP. She alleged most of the 32,000 families of the project affected people in the four districts were not rehabilitated properly in accordance with rules and court orders.

"We also demand the Madhya Pradesh government to intervene and firmly put their stand with the Centre," she said. Due to heavy rains in the last few days, many areas in these four districts were inundated in the backwaters of the dam.

A case in point is that of Rajghat village in Barwani district which has turned into an island, forcing its residents to use boats for transportation. The Sardar Sarovar Dam is a gravity dam on the Narmada river near Navagam in Gujarat.

The dam project covers states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The Narmada Control Authority in June 2017 decided had decided to raise the height of the dam to its fullest height 163 metre by ordering the closure of 30 gates.

On Monday, two persons were electrocuted and as many others injured when their boat came into contact with cables of the electricity polls lying submerged in the backwaters of the dam in Barwani district..