Bhopal:
It took Madhya Pradesh government almost two weeks to take notice of 51 protesters who have spent over a fortnight immersed in water in Khandwa district.
The protesters are demanding compensation and rehabilitation for villagers whose homes will be submerged under water if all the gates of the Omkareshwar dam are opened.
After the state government was criticized for allegedly ignoring their protest, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan yesterday deputed two of his ministers to hold talk with them.
So today, Madhya Pradesh Industries Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya and Tribal Welfare Minister Vijay Shah met them and Narmada Bachao Aandolan activists in Bhopal, hoping to resolve the issue. They will also travel to Khandwa, the ground zero of the protests.
"We discussed the issue with them. Both sides have understood the issue. We will now do a spot inspection and then after that we will make the Chief Minister aware of the situation. We will try and come to a conclusion by today evening," Mr Vijayvargiya said after the meeting. He assured the protesters that the chief minister is "always worried about the people of his state."
According to the protesters, the government's decision to increase the water level of the dam on the Narmada river without rehabilitating people living in low lying villages is a violation of a Supreme Court order, which says villagers must be rehabilitated at least six months before such a move is implemented.
The protesters say they are determined to continue with their protest till their demands are met.
"Till the time water level comes down to 189 metres and as per court orders we get our five acre land, and labourers get Rs. 2.5 lakh, we will die but we will sit here," said one of them.
These men and women have spent 15 days submerged in neck-deep water. Their Jal Satyagraha began on August 25, but it is now beginning to tell on their health.
"In the water, fishes and crabs are biting us, our skin is affected and it is raining also," said a protester.
A local delegation of CPI(M) and also the Congress MP from the area, Arun Yadav, met these protesters yesterday. But the protesters are angry over the fact that no one from the ruling BJP government came to meet them for two weeks. They say the government is ignoring them.
"We are very angry... the government has turned a blind eye towards us. The government is deaf and dumb. All we want is the water level to be decreased, and that too by just one-and-a-half metre. And compensation for our land. Is it too much to ask for?" said a woman protester.
"Well, I think the government has no choice but to listen. And if it doesn't, there are going to be very serious consequences because there are some people in neck-deep water and some response has to be made, both on democratic ground and humanitarian ground. You can't let people just drown, and I think it's imperative that the government respond immediately to the demands of these people," said Aruna Roy, member of the National Advisory Council (NAC).
The water of the Omkareshwar dam has already risen to 190.5 meters and its effects can been seen in Ghogal, Kaamankheda and 30 other villages, where crops have been damaged.
The local authorities had visited the area and assured all help in their capacity, but the situation on the ground has not changed yet.