Medha Patkar takes out Narmada bachao rally in Bharuch

BHARUCH: Social activist Medha Patkar took out a Narmada bachao rally in Bharuch on Monday. The rally was organized by Bharuch machhi community to demand release of water in rural areas in the downstream of Narmada dam to maintain ecology and for the survival of their business.
More than 1,500 people, including women, participated in the 6km-long rally that started from Vejalpur area in the old city of Bharuch and concluded at the district collectorate. They submitted a memorandum to district collector Ravi Arora and urged him to sensitize the state government on saving Narmada, which has begun to dry. Patkar told reporters: “The state government has failed to rehabilitate the project-affected people even after so many years. We have been fighting on this issue for more than 32 years. Now people living downstream of the dam are also in trouble and their livelihood is at risk. I am here to support the fishermen community and will continue to visit Bharuch to give a boost to their campaign. Both governments in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are only giving water to the industries.”
Asked if Congress and other parties are doing politics in her name, she said: “I am not bothered about them. I am only concerned about poor people. Seawater has come up to 60kilometre inside the river and thus, the state government should release water from the dam because it is a question of maintaining the flow of Narmada river in the downstream.”
by via Surat News, Latest Surat News Headlines & Live Updates - Times of India