With activist Medha Patkar to lead them, the Narmada Bachao Andolan began mobilizing massive marches and rallies against the Narmada Valley Development Project, and especially the largest, the Sardar Sarovar, in 1985. Although the protests were peaceful, Patkar and others were often beaten and arrested by police. Following the formation of the NBA in 1986, fifty thousand people gathered in the valley from all over India to pledge to fight “destructive development” in 1989. In 1990, thousands of villagers made their way by boat and foot to a small town in Madhya Pradesh in defense of their pledge to drown in the reservoir waters rather than move from their homes. Later that year on Christmas day an army of six thousand men and women accompanied a seven-member sacrificial squad in walking more than a hundred kilometers. The sacrificial squad had resolved to lay down its lives for the river. A little over a week later the squad announced an indefinite hunger strike. This was the first of three fasts and lasted twenty-two days. It almost killed Ms. Patkar, along with many others.
The NBA has also taken a more diplomatic approach to getting through to the government. They have submitted written representations (complaints) to government officials such as the Grievance Redressal Committee, the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam, the President, and the Minister of Social Justice and Environment Maneka Gandhi. More often than not, their voice goes unheard and unacknowledged
solution
No one has ever managed to make the World Bank step back from a project before. Least of all a ragtag army of the
poorest people in one of the world’s poorest countries.” - Arundhati Roy
The demonstrations, protests, rallies, hunger strikes, blockades, and written representations by Narmada Bachao Andolan have all made an impact on the direction of the movement to stop the building of large and small dams along the Narmada. Media attention from these events has taken the issues from a local level to a more national scale. The NBA was an integral force in forcing the World Bank to withdraw its loan from the projects by pressuring the Bank with negative media attention.
history
A first study about a %26quot; Narmada Valley Development Project%26quot; started in 1947. The aim was to provide large amounts of water and electricity that %26quot;are desperately required for the purposes of development%26quot;.
The resistance against the dam in the form of the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ started with the beginning of the works in 1987. The main issue for critics and debate is the %26quot;Rehabilitation and Resettlement%26quot;- (R%26amp;R) policy. According to the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal (NWDT), every project-affected family (PAF) should be given land one year prior to the submergence of their land and be rehabilitated completely. The Narmada Valley is a long hill range in the state of Madhya Pradesh and forms downstream the border between Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Narmada River flows westwards into the Arabic Sea. A first study about a %26quot; Narmada Valley Development Project%26quot; started in 1947. The aim was to provide large amounts of water and electricity that %26quot;are desperately required for the purposes of development%26quot;. It has grown to a project comprising 30 large dams, 135 medium and 3000 small dams. According to a first plan from 1959 the biggest dam should be the %26quot;Sardar Sarovar Project%26quot; (SSP). But full-scale construction of this dam did not start before 1987.
Rehabilitation
The main issue for critics and debate is the %26quot;Rehabilitation and Resettlement%26quot;- (R%26amp;R) policy. According to the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal (NWDT), every project-affected family (PAF) should be given land one year prior to the submergence of their land and be rehabilitated completely. The latest official estimates from the three states add up to 41,500 PAFs, or 207,500 people, around 80% of them in Madhya Pradesh. Almost all the PAPs in Gujarat and Maharashtra and perhaps half of those in Madhya Pradesh are adivasis, or indigenous peoples. Large numbers of poor and underprivileged communities are being dispossessed of their livelihood to make way for dams being built on the basis of dubious claims of common benefit and %26quot;national interest%26quot;. For no large dam in India has it been shown that the resettled people have been provided with just compensation and rehabilitation. 86% 6 Votes
http://narmada.aidindia.org/ 14% 1 Vote