By IANS
Bhopal : People affected by dam projects in Madhya Pradesh Thursday called off their 37-day agitation led by Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) after a meeting with the state government.
Two NBA activists, Chittaroopa Palit and Bhagwan Mukati, who were on a fast-unto-death along with the strike, also withdrew their protest.
The agitators called off their protests after a meeting with Minister of State for Narmada Valley Development Nagendra Singh.
The protest, which began in Khandwa June 4 with a rally of over 12,000 people affected by the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar dams, shifted to Bhopal June 29 with people deciding not to return to their villages until their demands were met.
The Indira Sagar is among the 31 big dams planned or being built as part of the $7.7 billion Sardar Sarovar project to tap the waters of the Narmada river.
The Narmada Valley Development Plan envisages 31 large, 135 medium and 3,000 small dams on the river.
The dam-affected people are demanding land-based rehabilitation of landless families and adult sons and unmarried adult daughters of affected families as well as the provision of employment guarantee schemes and basic services like drinking water at rehabilitation sites.
However, NBA leader Alok Agarwal said there was no specific reason behind calling off the agitation, adding that their struggle will continue.
Officials said that the activists suspended their agitation, as they were satisfied with the minister’s assurance that grievances of the oustees would be redressed.
“The government is going to hold camps in the affected villagers to solve the problems of the oustees. We will monitor it, take up the issues of rehabilitation and rights of the displaced people on the ground and in the court of law till Sep 30. We will resume our agitation in Bhopal even if a single oustee was not provided justice,” Agarwal told IANS.
The state government recently announced to constitute village-level rehabilitation committees to ensure participation of displaced people affected by various dam projects.
“The committees are being constituted to ensure participation of the displaced people in redressing the grievances of those affected by Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar dam projects,” said Uday Kumar Verma, principal secretary, Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA), last week.