Crusade over, ordeal begins for Naya Harsud

A delayed monsoon has brought some relief to the people of Harsud, the town which will be submerged following the construction of Indira Sagar Dam on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh. As many as 27,607 of the 34,964 families affected by the project have been rehabilitated at Naya Harsud (Chhanera) so far, even as state Public Works Minister Kailash Vijayvergiya extended the deadline to shift them till Thursday. Official sources say, 60 per cent of the affected families in Harsud alone have been moved to safer places.

Newly-appointed Minister Vijay Shah, representing Harsud in state Assembly, on Thursday visited Mehadpura, part of Balkheria village that was not covered for compensation. He announced that the affected people will get 80 per cent of the relief amount immediately so that they are able to shift.

Besides Harsud, rehabilitation work is on in 119 other villages. Both Vijayvergiya and State Water Resources Minister Anup Mishra have been monitoring the rehabilitation work since last week. They have constituted a special team to keep a watch on people, to prevent them from returning to their original homes out of ignorance and in view of delayed rainfall.

On Wednesday, Governor Balram Jakhar had suggested that the compensation package for the dam oustees should be doubled since they are not less than ‘‘freedom fighters’’. ‘‘The project-affected people in Harsud are new freedom fighters, who are sacrificing their ancestral houses and memories for the development of the state,’’ he said. — (PTI)