Next target is Oman pipeline

VADODARA, Dec 5: Before the dust raised by Narmada Jan Andolan's NJA kar seva on Saturday has settled, the Khedut Samaj -- from which NJ...

VADODARA, Dec 5: Before the dust raised by Narmada Jan Andolan8217;s NJA kar seva on Saturday has settled, the Khedut Samaj 8212; from which NJA drew much support 8212; has decided to embarrass the state government again. This time, by opposing the 8220;Oman pipeline project8221;, which will take oil off-loaded at Vadinar port to a refinery in Bina, Madhya Pradesh.

8220;The war has been declared, the action will begin soon 8212; in a fortnight8217;s time,8221; says Bipin Desai, president of the 30-year-old farmers organisation.

The Khedut Samaj8217;s opposes the project on two grounds: first, the seven-foot wide pipeline will be laid by digging up agricultural land along a few hundred kilometres of its route through the Saurashtra, central, and south Gujarat regions; second, the Samaj perceives that both the Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh governments are delaying the Sardar Sarovar Project, and does not want Madhya Pradesh to benefit at the cost of 8220;our land8221;.

The second, political, reason seems the stronger motive for the Khedut Samaj8217;s agitation.

8220;We will sound the alarm, and farmers in Saurashtra and the other regions through which the pipeline is planned will oppose it tooth and nail,8221; Desai says. 8220;Nobody will be allowed to demarcate land on the pipeline route, nobody will be allowed to dig for laying the pipes.8221;

He says 8220;thousands of acres8221; of agricultural land will be affected, should the project come through. 8220;So we will prevent the laying of the pipeline.8221; Desai says farmers will also organise agitations at several strategic points along the pipeline route. 8220;Why should our farmers allow the Madhya Pradesh government to benefit at the cost of the quality of their land, especially when it doesn8217;t care for the early completion of the Narmada project, our lifeline?8221; he asks.

Desai says, 8220;The attitude of the state government and the Centre makes me cry. They have ignored the interests of Gujarati farmers.8221; Papers for the pipeline project was signed three months ago by the Government of India, the Sultanate of Oman, the Govet of Gujarat, and the MP Govt.

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Into the bin8217;
Narmada Jan Andolan NJA leader Sharad Joshi is all contempt for the legal notice served on him by the state government. 8220;My lawyer tells me to throw it in the dustbin,8221; Joshi said. A legal notice that doesn8217;t even mention the name of the person it is meant for is no notice at all!8221; he said.

8220;But what could we expect from this government? When it has failed to file a proper brief on the important dam project in the Supreme Court, it can certainly be expected to goof up on a legal notice!8221; He also repeated that the state government was an 8220;agent of Narmada Bachao Andolan NBA leader Medha Patkar8221;, a statement that brought on the notice in the first place. About Saturday8217;s kar seva, Joshi insisted it was a 8220;resounding success, given the constraints under which we performed it8221;.