Sardar Sarovar: Medha Patkar's Health Deteriorating

Medha Patkar, who has been spearheading the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada movement) for 34 years, has been on a hunger strike in Barwani, Madhya Pradesh, for consecutive eight days. Though her health is now deteriorating. Despite meeting with top officials of the Madhya Pradesh government, she has not relented to end her hunger strike.

Water in Gujarat’s Sardar Sarovar Dam is flowing from the height of 134 meters and it is feared that its water level will reach 139 meters in the coming days. This rising water level has been proved disastrous for hundreds of villages in Madhya Pradesh. Many villages have been turned into islands inundated by the backwaters of Sardar Sarovar. Around 192 villages are on the verge of drowning. In many villages, people have abandoned their homes and run away. 

Medha Patkar, along with her supporters, has been waging a long struggle to save these villages from flooding. They demand that the Gujarat government open the gates of Sardar Sarovar Dam so that the villages of Madhya Pradesh can be rescued from the flooding. They have alleged that the Center and the state government are plotting to submerge 192 villages as well as a town where 32,000 families are still residing. The protestors demand until the 32,000 affected are not fully rehabilitated, the gates of the dam should be kept open and the water level should be kept constant at 122 meters. 

Many organizations have supported in their movement for the rights of the people displaced due to Sardar Sarovar Dam. However, governments are not agreeing to their demands. Patkar says that she will not end her hunger strike until the demands are met.