Madhya Pradesh government cracks down on Indira Sagar dam oustees

People protesting displacement caused by the Indira Sagar dam on the river Narmada got a shock on Wednesday when the Madhya Pradesh government used police force to crack down on them. The dam oustees were holding a jal satyagraha by sitting in neck deep water and were hoping that their grievances would be redressed as happened in the case of Omkareshwar dam oustees  downstream. 

Omkareshwar dam: land compensation rights of oustees upheld

People displaced by the Omkareshwar dam on the river Narmada are likely to get land compensation now following the orders of the grievance redressal authority (GRA) set up to look into their complaints. On July 31, GRA issued an order directing the Madhya Pradesh government and the Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation (NHDC), a subsidiary of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, to protect the “land for land” rights of the first batch of 2,500 oustees who approached the authority for relief and rehabilitation (R&R).

Protesting villages under siege

Three days after violent clashes broke out between police personnel and farmers in Bhatta and Parsol villages in Greater Noida near Delhi, the residents of the villages were under virtual house arrest. The two adjoining villages in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh was cordoned off by police personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and the Rapid Action Force (RAF); media-persons were not allowed to enter the villages. Three fire-tenders lined the entrance of the villages. One tender was being used to douse flames in a charred building.