Stopped en route to Sanchi, Vaiko's sit-in against Rajapakse continues

Bhopal: The dharna by over a thousand MDMK workers, led by party general secretary Vaiko, stopped on their way to Sanchi to protest against the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, continued tonight at Gadchicholi near Pandhurna on the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border.

Jabalpur range Inspector General V Madhu Kumar told PTI late night that neither Mr Vaiko nor any of the MDMK workers had been arrested, as the protest so far was peaceful.

Mr Rajapakse is scheduled to be in Sanchi for laying the foundation stone of the International Buddhist University on Friday. MDMK has opposed his visit, citing his government's atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamils.

Mr Kumar said police will take necessary action if MDMK protesters tried to proceed towards Bhopal/Sanchi.

Nanmaran, an MDMK leader, said the sit-in on the Nagpur-Chhindwara road continued. "Our leader will take call on further course of action tomorrow," he said.

Police have encircled the entire group of MDMK workers.

Earlier in the day, Mr Vaiko and MDMK workers, travelling in a convoy of 40 buses, headed for Sanchi, were stopped on Maharashtra-MP border, following which they staged a sit-in on the road.

Mr Vaiko alleged that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan misled him by promising to discuss the matter in Bhopal, but he had been now stopped on the border.

Talking to reporters at Nagpur, the MDMK leader had earlier lashed out at BJP government in Madhya Pradesh for inviting the Sri Lankan president, and the Centre for endorsing the visit, "despite knowing that Rajapakse is solely responsible for the genocide of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka."

Jal satyagraha: Ministers meet Khandwa protesters

Bhopal: It has taken Madhya Pradesh government almost two weeks to take notice of 51 protesters who have spent almost 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 the protesters.

So today, Madhya Pradesh Industries Minister Kailash Vijayvergiya and Tribal Welfare Minister Vijay Shah are meeting the protesters and Narmada Bachao Aandolan activists in Bhopal, hoping to resolve the issue.

The protesters say 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 neck-deep in 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.

From: NDTV

No end to water protest in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: In Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa area, 51 people stayed immersed in water for the 13th day today in what's being called a 'jal satyagraha'. The protestors are demanding compensation and rehabilitation for villagers whose homes will be submerged under water after the state government's order of opening all the gates of the Omkareshwar dam in Madhya Pradesh.

With Narmada flowing above the danger levels, the government has little choice. However, the protestors, members of the 'Narmada Bachao Andolan', say the government's decision to increase the water level of the Omkareshwar on the Narmada 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.

"Till the time water level comes down to 189 and as per court orders, we get the 5 acre land. And labourers get Rs. 2.5 lakh. Till that time even if we die, we will sit here," said one of the 51 protestors at Madhya Pradesh's Ghogal village, who have been sitting in water for the past 13 days.

"In the water, fishes and crabs are biting us, our skin is affected and it is raining also," said a protestor.

However, despite the deteriorating health of the protestors, the government has so far offered no medical help. No one from the local administration has visited the spot of the protest.

The water of the Omkareshwar dam has already risen to 190.5 meters and its effects can been seen in Ghogal, Kaamankheda and 28 other villages, where crops have been damaged.