What two metres can do to a village; the story of a Jal Satyagraha

What two metres can do to a village; the story of a Jal Satyagraha
What two metres can do to a village; the story of a Jal Satyagraha
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For 30 days now, dozens of people are standing in waist-deep water, protesting against a dam that has submerged their villages in Madhya Pradesh.With photos of Ambedkar and Gandhi to give them courage in the face of government apathy, 96 farmers of Ghogalgaon, Khandwa district, have been standing in the water for 30 days between 6 am and 9 pm every day since April 11.A statement from the Narmada Bachao Andolan says that the bodies and skin of the “Jal Satyagrahis” had begun to be affected by the time they had spent in the water. This is by far, the longest Jal Satyagraha that villagers displaced by the Omkareshwar dam in the region have undertaken.They have been protesting the state government’s decision to raise the water level of Omkareshwar Dam in the Narmada Valley from 189 to 191 metres last month. This has submerged 32 villages in the Nimar region, who along with other villages in the area, are supporting the Jal Satyagraha of Ghogalgaon’s villagers.The villagers are demanding fair compensation, in accordance with Supreme Court orders that directed the state government to either allot every land loser with a minimum of 2 Ha of land or to provide them with a financial grant that would enable to purchase land by themselves. Villagers and activists say the government is apathetic to their condition and has sent police instead of asking government officials to listen to their demands. During a similar Jal Satyagraha in 2012, the Madhya Pradesh government had agreed to meet their demands.According to a Hindustan Times report, villagers feel that political parties such as the Congress and the AAP are trying to hijack the movement, which was at the peak of its success in 2012. Economic Times reported that the AAP had lent support to the protesting villagers in April.The story of a Jal Satyagraha in tweets, pictures and videos: Condition of protesters at Ghogalgaon (MP) deteriorates further after 29 days of #JalSatyagraha govt not ready to budge @ibnlive — Raghav Chopra (@AarSee) May 9, 2015 Heavy Police force at #JalSatyagraha स्थल : http://t.co/gKgiM1KezJ #Ghogalgaon10 via @iAGoswami — Right Now I/O Feed (@rightnowio_feed) May 9, 2015 I salute the villagers of Ghogalgaon - standing with courage to peacefully resist the police #JalSatyagraha pic.twitter.com/b9ALdNgHHt — Atishi Marlena (@AtishiMarlena) May 9, 2015 Day 28 of the #JalSatyagraha - 250 policemen gathered near Ghogalgaon. @ChouhanShivraj all set for brutal repression of Satyagrahis? — Atishi Marlena (@AtishiMarlena) May 9, 2015 Over two dozen farmers have been on Jalsatyagraha in Ghogalgaon(Madhya Pradesh) since April 11. NDTV से... http://t.co/DLM8Cc70Dj — Kailash (@KailashJandu) April 26, 2015 Police attack villagers protesting against land theft for the Omkareshwar Dam project in #India http://t.co/JfRCnt4D http://t.co/KLRPYXJy — aredsheep (@anarkysheep) September 17, 2012 Villagers of Ghogalgaon start gathering to peacefully resist police action #PeoplePower #JalSatyagraha pic.twitter.com/cGyb2VXpgH — Atishi Marlena (@AtishiMarlena) May 10, 2015  Police has retreated from #JalSatyagraha site, on facing peaceful resistance of hundreds of villagers. pic.twitter.com/EjDavVq9WJ — Atishi Marlena (@AtishiMarlena) May 9, 2015  

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