[asia-apec 1251] Action Alert: URGENT: Fax Now to Stop Sardar Sarovar Project/NBA Action Alert follows

[Anuradha Mittal]

This action alert is being forwarded by Food First on behalf of the Narmada
Bachao Andolan and International Rivers Network

Dear Friends,

At this moment, villagers and activists in central India are vowing to
drown in the waters rising behind the $8.1 billion Sardar Sarovar Dam in
western India rather than leave their ancestral homes and lands.  More than
12,000 people living in 60 villages are currently at risk of losing their
lands due to submergence caused by recent construction on the dam. We need
your help now to urge the Indian government to stop this man-made tragedy.
An urgent action alert from the NBA is included below.

"We will drown, but we will not move!" Since June 20, activists of the
Narmada Bachao Andolan and villagers of the Narmada Valley have been
occupying two houses in the lowest reaches of Domkhedi and Jalsindhi
villages, determined to brave the rising floodwaters. On August 11, heavy
rains caused a rapid swell in the level of the reservoir waters, and more
than 60 activists stood for several hours in water that was waist-deep-high
in Domkhedi. They were eventually arrested and beaten by the police. Even
after their release from jail, the protesters returned to the river banks
to continue their vigil.

After a four-year stay on construction, the Supreme Court allowed the
height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam to be raised 5 meters this past February.
The decision was based on falsified reports by the  state governments of
Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. These governments argued that the
people displaced by the dam to date have been satisfactorily rehabilitated
and that there is sufficient land available for resettlement. Questioning
of officials, however, has proved that there is no land available for
resettlement. If the dam is completed, it will force the relocation of more
than 500,000 people from their homes.

Your help can make a difference!

We urge you to send the letter below to the President of India in support
of the activists and villagers living in the valley. We also encourage you
to visit the website of the Gujarat Chief Minister and email or fax the
letter below.

For more info, please go to www.irn.org or www.narmada.org or reply to this
email.

Thank you for your actions and solidarity!

Yours sincerely,
Susanne Wong and Rishiraj Das

***************
PLEASE FAX OR EMAIL A LETTER TO THE INDIAN PRESIDENT

Sample Letter

Dr. K. R. Narayanan
The Honorable President of India
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi
India

Fax: +91 (011) 3014570, +91 (011) 3017290
Email:  pressecy at alpha.nic.in

Dear K.R. Narayanan,

I am writing in support of the people of the Narmada Valley and the Narmada
Bachao Andolan, who are currently facing the submergence of their villages,
homes and lands due to the Sardar Sarovar Project. I urge the Indian
government to stop construction of the dam immediately.

The Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) and other dams along the Narmada River
pose serious threats to the culture and existence of the people of the
Narmada Valley. This summer alone, the rising backwaters of the project
have submerged and destroyed hundreds of tribal farms with standing crops
and houses. We stand in solidarity with the people of the Narmada Valley
who have been on satyagraha since June 20 and are determined to drown
rather than leave their lands for this destructive project.

I urge you to use your powers as President to protect the rights of the
people of the Narmada Valley. It is essential that this project be
reevaluated before any more lives are lost, and any more money is spent.
There are alternatives that provide more democratic and sustainable ways to
irrigate land and generate electricity. I believe that, as President, your
call to fully explore and utilize these alternatives in India will be
heeded by those in a position to initiate changes.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, COUNTRY


********************
PLEASE FAX OR EMAIL THE GUJARAT CHIEF MINISTER

Sample Letter

**TO SEND AN EMAIL, go to http://www.cm.gujaratindia.com/cmform.html and
paste in the following (or your own) message.

Mr Keshubhai Patel,
Chief Minister of Gujarat,
Nava Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar,
Gujarat, 382 010
India

Fax: +91 (2712) 22101

Shri Keshubhai Patel,

I am writing to express my support for the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the
people of the Narmada Valley who oppose the Sardar Sarovar Dam. I believe
that this project is not in the best interests of the drought-affected
people of Gujarat or the people of the Narmada Valley. Pursuing further dam
construction will only result in a shameful loss of lives, land and
democracy, and it will devastate the Gujarati economy.  I urge you and the
Gujarat government to reevaluate your position on the Sardar Sarovar
Project. I believe it will be an indelible blemish in the reputation of the
state of Gujarat if construction on this dam is continued.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, COUNTRY


*************************

A CALL FROM THE NARMADA VALLEY

                                                  Domkhedi (Akrani)
                                                        Aug. 9,1999.
Dear Friend,

Sitting on the banks of Narmada in the Domkhedi village watching the
rain cloud lit mountains of Vindhyas and Satpuras, we the satyagrahis
are thinking of you all, you who have supported and stood by the cause
of the people of Narmada through 14 years of struggle and who have been
with us here many times.  This is for us all a personal crisis when the
loss of all that we hold close are lost in the name of an unjust and
inequitable process, in the name of National Development.

Villages all around Domkhedi and afar are rallying together here in
support of the Satyagraha.  The songs  and slogans reiterating our own
strength and will to carry the struggle forward break the silence of the
mountains.  Those of you who came here during June-July 1999 would be
shocked to hear that the Mahua tree on the bank of Narmada where the
meeting of 4th July was organised is half submerged.  The dry tree on
which the blue flag of Narmada Bachao Andolan flutters is touching the
rising waters already. Luharia's farm in Jalsindhi is mostly engulfed in
rising back waters.  The Adivasis who attend the meetings everyday talk
of the origin of the Earth, the river and the Narmada who cannot be
bound at at all.  The people of Nimad with their songs and reserves of
provisions and food create a feeling of security and goodwill here.

As for this moment, the waters have risen to just 4 feet below the
Satyagraha hut. Many of the fields and houses at the adjacent Sikka
village are already submerged. Though there is less --- here a feeling
of an impending crisis, a calm before a storm is felt always.  One feels
reassured about the silence and inner strength of the people carrying on
with their own lives - a baby born two days back cries with all his zest
for life and life continues....

>From June 20th onwards, when Satyagraha began in Jalsindhi and Domkhedi,
the valley has witnessed a variety of programmes focussing on difficult
aspects of the struggle. The Yuva Shibir program which culminated in a
'Jeevan Yatra' ( March for Life) from Manibeli to Domkhedi was attended
by youth groups from various parts of the country.  The week long fast
and silence observed by satyagrahis (from July 4th to 11th) saw the
declaration of a new phase of struggle for a new life.

We know that your thoughts are with us during this period, but we also
wonder if you are doing your best to join the struggle in your own way.
At this juncture there a lot you can contribute sitting far away. The
message of Narmada and life has to be carried forward again.  We
understand that many of you have been talking to the children and
students of your area about the issue.  Please continue with this
effort, giving a new speed and intrusion to it.  Various people's
movements from every nook and corner are coming. Artists, poets and
literary figures all over the world are coming together and contributing
by drawing, signing or writing about the valley.

Let the streets of our country reverberate with the sound of this
river, its hills, forests and people.  The President of India, who in
his official capacity can intervene and stall this decision to carry the
work on Sardar Sarovar Project can be persuaded to act by your letters,
telegrams or messages.

It is also imperative that your group or representatives of various
groups in your area meet the Governor of the state with an appeal
demanding justice for the dispossessed.

The week from August 15, onwards can be declared as a period where
freedom of speech, freedom of justice, right to life and sustenance can
be stressed upon. Let us usher in a new century where people's power,
rights and justice will win. Simultaneous to all this there is also a
plan to organise delegations from five regions of the country
(Kanyakumari, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Rajasthan and West Bengal) who would
meet the President. This would be followed by continuous satyagrahas in
Delhi in the first half of September, depending on the intensity of the
impending submergence.  It would be great if some of you can join one of
the group and participate in this march and or help in organising
programmes on the way to Delhi.

Last but not the least, there is always the call for each one of you
from this valley. We reiterate our invitation for each one of you to
come here and link hands with the people of the valley.  Inspite of the
rising waters, judicial apathy and indifferences, the lives of the
people have to continue. You can help in the reconstruction process by
adding with your special skills in various fields.  Narmada valley is
open for you to do Jan Samarpan ( Dedication  To The People).

Take this call, dear friend and come here for  1 year and help in the
phoenician attempts of the Narmada valley.

Hoping you will stand by us and hear the songs of the yet unsilenced
River.

In Solidarity,


S.Anitha, Samata, Jacob Vadakkanchery, Sibi, Karuna, Philip, Premdas,
Praveen, Mathew, Vilas Bongade, Venu, Manu, Avinash B.J., Santosh, and
many others.
---

Anuradha Mittal
Policy Director
Institute for Food and Development Policy - Food First
398 60th Street, Oakland, CA 94618 USA
Phone: (510) 654-4400  Fax: (510) 654-4551
http://www.foodfirst.org