NBA demands committee to rehabilitate Narmada dam oustees

Bhopal: Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar on Tuesday demanded formation of a state-level committee for rehabilitating those people in Madhya Pradesh who were affected by the backwater of the Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) in Gujarat.

Patkar has been on fast since November 16 for various demands of the dam oustees.

She also demanded setting up of a joint commission comprising two senior officials of the state government and some senior citizens who should take a holistic view of the issue.

"We demand that the government constitute a state-level committee comprising five members of the NBA and of relevant departments for rehabilitation of the people affected by the SSD," Patkar told reporters in Bhopal.

Patkar reiterated that the Gujarat government's "illegal and inhuman" decision to allow the water level in the dam to touch its fullest capacity had resulted into flooding of houses and land belonging to thousands of people due to the backwater.

She claimed that a "consensus" has reached between the protesters and the government over some of the total 40 demands.