2 Narmada project-hit villagers climb telecom tower to press for demands; climb down after 6 hours, assurances

Early on Friday, Dinesh Tadvi from Chichadiya Vasahat and Babita Tadvi from Vaghadiya village climbed up a BSNL tower after tying a hand-written banner on a lower rung of the structure, warning officials that they would “remain perched” until their 2016 demands, including compensation, were met.

The banner named a former cabinet minister, Bhupendrasinh Chudasma, and BJP leader Bharat Pandya, who had met the protesting Narmada-affected residents in July 2016 and assured them that their demands would be met while urging them to call off their six-month-long stir.

The banner said, “Today, eight years have passed but our issues have remained unresolved… SSNNL (Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd.) should fulfill the assurance…”

As soon as the news of the duo on the tower spread, Fire and Emergency Services from Statue of Unity as well as Vadodara city were rushed in while officials of the district police, administration, including Prant Officer Kishan Gadhvi, arrived at the spot to assure the villagers that they would soon be given a resolution. After six hours of negotiations and assurances, the fire department managed to convince Dinesh and Babita to descend the tower, rushing them to a hospital for treatment.

Babita claimed that her family had received no compensation for a land that was allegedly “acquired without consent” from her father by the SSNNL. “My father’s land has been shown as acquired (back in the 1960s) but his consent was never sought. We have not received any compensation and we have been running from pillar to post for the last several years. Every time, we are asked for documents to show but the fact is that my father never signed any documents.”

Gadhvi, the Deputy Collector and Prant Officer for Rajpipla, said, “The two persons had climbed the BSNL tower as they had unresolved issues. We received the information at 8am and rushed to the spot immediately. We were trying to make them understand that they can speak to the officials after coming down from the tower. The Vadodara fire brigade team was called to help. We have assured the duo that their issues will be looked into.”

The Joint Commissioner of SSPA, meanwhile, wrote a letter to the Additional Secretary of Narmada Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpsar Department to look into the “reasonable” demands made by Dinesh.

Detailing the incident that occurred in Kevadia, the letter of the SSPA on Friday stated, “The demands of the flood-affected person are attached along with the letter. If they are in the realm of the policy, it is requested to take action at the earliest.”

In 2016, Shira Vasahat — a settlement of oustees of the Narmada dam — had become the centre of a protest fast that lasted over six months and was led by activist Jiku Tadvi.

The affected residents had submitted a memorandum of 27 demands to then Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, seeking a resolution and threatening an unending relay hunger strike. While the rehabilitation policy of the Gujarat government offered five acres land to each oustee family, including the adult sons of the landholders, the contentions included the lack of irrigation or canal networks for these lands as well as a revised cut-off date of January 1, 1994 for identifying the adult sons for land allotment, instead of the Gujarat government notification identifying the sons who turned major before January 1, 1987.