Sardar Sarovar dam: As water level rises in reservoir, villagers fear submergence

NGO Narmada Bachao Andolan claimed on Thursday that the Narmada Control Authority has decided to fill its reservoir to full capacity this year to test the water pressure on the dam. It alleged that according to a phase-wise plan, by August 31, the dam water will reach 134 m, and by October, 138.6 m. If the water levels touches that mark, several villages stand the risk of submergence.

Like Vasawe, there are over 630 families, who fall in the submergence zone in Maharashtra but are yet to be rehabilitated by the government, data from the NGO showed.

In all, across Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, 32,000 families are yet to be rehabilitated, the NGO claimed. “Only 15,000 have been rehabilitated so far,” said Latika Rajput, a member of the NGO.

Vasawe claimed that while the government had promised Rs 60 lakh for five acres or land in exchange of land lost due to the dam, he is yet to be identified as a project affected person and continues to wait for rehabilitation.

Villagers have gone on a protest in Badwani, Madhya Pradesh, to oppose the government’s move to fill the reservoir. Activist Medha Patkar has been on fast there since a week.

In Madhya Pradesh, Devram Kanera lives in Khaparkheda village, where 167 households may get submerged. “Every day, the water level is increasing. Our village is in a hilly terrain, the water level is so high that our village has been split into three islands,” Kanera said over phone.

Villagers use boats to travel from one hut to another. Kanera also claimed that he is awaiting rehabilitation by the government. “If our hut submerges, we have no where to go.”

Several villagers are relocating higher up the hills as water levels rise. Over the last 25 years, since the construction of the Sardar Sarovar dam began, the Narmada river’s width has swollen multi fold. The land that was once rich for agriculture now lays submerged in water.

As many as 192 villages in MP, 33 in Maharashtra and 19 in Gujarat now fall under the submergence zone.