From: <a DEFANGED_onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:medha@narmada.org">medha@narmada.org</a> <<a DEFANGED_onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:medha@narmada.org">medha@narmada.org
</a>><br><br>* FLASH FLOODS IN NIMAD, 80 HOUSES AFFECTED<br>* MASS RALLY ON JULY 4TH IN BADWANI (DISTRICT HEAD QUARTERS)<br><br><br>It was a shocking view as we reached the villages of Khaparkheda,<br>Bajrikheda
<br>and Karmal. The water level rose and took away as many as 80<br>houses.Families have lost their houses, grains, clothes and other household<br>items.<br><br>A big drain that flows between Khaparkheda and Bajrikheda has led to such
<br>a severe impact without the Narmada waters entering inside the villages.<br>The water has reached the Reservoir Water Level mark.<br><br>Hence, it is very clear to the villagers that the official inserted stone<br>marks are not going to be the real indicators of what could be the impact
<br>of this flash flood. And when the dam height reaches the final mark of<br>138.68metres, one can only imagine the amount of destruction it will bring.<br><br>A large chunk of land in Khaparkheda is left out of acquisition while the
<br>Government claimed that the same would not be submerged. The people living<br>have continuously complained over the years. The scenario in the villages<br>today confirms the people's fears to be real and the Government's claims
<br>to<br>be false.<br><br>The flood came and one by one, houses started collapsing. The volunteering<br>farmers and youths from the village saved life and some of the property,<br>while the rest flowed with the water. A few cattle also flowed along with
<br>the water. This makes clear that the Government has no machinery to inform<br>the flooded villages whether dam-related or otherwise. The Government is<br>almost absent<br>in the relief work. Andolan activists informed the police at 2
a.m. and<br>they reached the site with the Tehsildar only around 11 a.m. No relief<br>material has reached the villages yet, while the NBA could<br>provide some plastic sheets and the food arrangements were made by the<br>
villagers. While the loss incurred, is mostly of the dalits, adivasis and a<br>few other farmer families. The rest of the villagers made arrangements in<br>their houses for the affected families and in public school premises. One
<br>can only imagine some financial assistance that too a meager sum, which the<br>affected families can claim under the ongoing scheme.<br><br>The real question is - 'Should this years experience be taken as a warning
<br>against the unpredictable drought and flood cycle which the valley is<br>bound to face as a result of the cascade of dams with Sardar Sarovar at the<br>tail?' It is clear that due to displacement without rehabilitation and the
<br>struggle under NBA and court orders, the upstream dams especially Indira<br>Sagar and Omkareshwar cannot be fully filled and hence the reservoir water<br>will be released from time and again to flood the villages and lands
<br>underneath. The unpredictability of the impact is for sure going to result<br>to a<br>torturous situation, which no one can avoid. This seems to be just the<br>beginning. People in Sardar Sarovar region will have a Mass Protest Rally
<br>in Badwani (District Head Quarter) on the 4th of July.<br><br>Ashish Mandloi Kamla Yadav Medha Patkar<br><br>NARMADA BACHAO ANDOLAN<br>62 Gandhi Marg, Badwani, M.P. Ph. 07290-222464 <a DEFANGED_onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:nba.badwani@gmail.com">
nba.badwani@gmail.com</a><br>Maitri Niwas, Tembewadi, Dhadgaon, Nandurbar, Maharashtra. Ph:<br>02595-220620<br>C/o B-13, Shivam Flats, Ellora Park, Vadodara -390023<br>Ph: 0265-2282232 <a DEFANGED_onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:nba.baroda@gmail.com">
nba.baroda@gmail.com</a><br>