BeyondHeadlines News Desk
Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) deplored that at least seven adivasi families are under custody and are kept in their own houses by the Gujarat Police and administration, since yesterday. In village Kevadia just 7 kms away from the Sardar Sarovar Dam site and already affected by the projects since 1960’s women who were asserting that their agricultural land and houses shouldn’t be grabbed for Bharat Bhavan, without they getting the package of alternative land to the landholder and an amount of Rs. 5 lakhs for the each adult major son in the family; were arrested by the police and taken to Tilakwada p.o. about 50 kms away.
According to a press release NBA activists Medha Patkar, Devram Kanera and Jikubhai Tadvi expressed concern that while the women were released after a pressure was created by the crowd gathered at the p.o. and media covering the incidence, the JCB machines were brought to carry on their work, destroying even the standing crops of ‘Tuvar’.
“The action continued overnight, smashing not just the crop and the land, but hearts of the adivasis who have been fighting for their survival since 1970’s and loss their livelihoods since 1961 itself,” said activists.
They said that the six villages with Kevadia being one of those, lost their land acquired for the Sardar Sarovar and project colony, at a meager rate of compensation in 1961 and all the adivasis Bhil (Tadis) families became either landless or left with small chunks of land.
The land they lost was used for nine kinds of government guest houses, staff quarters, and colony, bazaar as well as tourism centers while some of it has been used for storage of material of the contractors, illegally diverting the purpose of acquisition itself.
