We will court arrest, says Joshi

8220;If the Government imposes Section 144, we will court arrest,8221; the former IAS officer said. 8220;And our number will not anything less than 2 lakh. If the kar sevaks are arrested, it would be at the Government8217;s cost and we won8217;t be required to feed them8221;, he says in lighter vein.

8220;Nothing can stop me from taking water where the thirst is and if I do anything illegal, I am ready to face the maximum penalty.8221;

As many as 500 hoardings and banners will be put up in different parts of the State to create an awareness and meetings will be also held.

During the agitation, women in large numbers will form a human chain from the Kevadia Colony damsite and carry pots full of water to release it in the main canal in a symbolic gesture. A large group will also break the hillock at the end of the bypass tunnel; this tunnel can take water to the main canal even before the dam height reaches 110 meters.

Madhya Pradesh has linked the issue of digging a bypass tunnel to the lowering of the dam height but Joshi says any confrontation between the two states is for them to resolve. 8220;I am not entering into the technical aspect of a bypass tunnel. The primary aim is to get water in the canal,8221; he says.

The kisan leader was careful in references to the other, more widely known, andolan. The NJA, he said, was not a counter group to the anti-dam activists. 8220;We are not here to abuse the NBA. In fact, none of the kar sevaks should do that,8221; Joshi told a gathering at the NJA office. Since nobody has come to fight for the cause 8220;we have to8221;, he stated.

This is, he says, a long-drawn battle with enemies everywhere. The final results, though, could be far more than visualised, he says, adding that at 88 meters, it would be the most economically viable measure to dig a bypass tunnel.

The NJA has received funds 8212; or pledges of funds 8212; from various organisations and individuals, including SETU and former Congress MP Urmila Patel, who has called for the SSP to be considered a national project. Others at today8217;s meeting were Raghav Raiyanai, Chunibhai Vaidya and president of Gujarat Khedut Samaj Bipin Desai.

A political leader 8212; politicians, says Joshi, are welcome in their personal capacity 8212; from Rajkot sent a message saying that around 30,000 people would come for the kar seva. Similarly, a retired police officer has pledged 1,000 volunteers to help with security arrangements.