**NEW** We are now on Facebook too. Just type in 'Narmada Solidarity' in the search box at the top left of your profile, and join our group.INTRODUCTION:
The construction of large dams on the River Narmada in central India and its impact on millions of people living in the river valley has become one of the most important social issues in contemporary India.
Through this website, 'Narmada Solidarity Worldwide' aims to
widen the reach of the 'Friends of the River Narmada', and in doing so promote solidarity and awareness about the situation in the valley.
Please note:
For a detailed, up-to-date analysis of the situation in the valley, please also visit the 'Friends of the River Narmada' website:
www.narmada.org
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING NARMADA SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE.--Brief introduction to the Narmada Issue:--
The controversy over large dams on the River Narmada has come to symbolise the struggle for a just and equitable society in India.
The story is long and complicated and will take a long time to tell. In brief, the Government's plan is to build 30 large, 135 medium and 3000 small dams to harness the waters of the Narmada and its tributaries.
The proponents of the dam claim that this plan would provide large amounts of water and electricity which are desperately required for the purposes of development.Opponents of the dam question the basic assumptions of the Narmada Valley Development Plan and believe that its planning is unjust and inequitous and the cost-benefit analysis is grossly inflated in favour of building the dams.
It is well established that the plans rest on untrue and unfounded assumptions of hydrology and seismicity of the area and the construction is causing large scale abuse of human rights and displacement of many poor and underprivileged communities.
They also believe that water and energy can be provided to the people of the Narmada Valley, Gujarat and other regions through alternative technologies and planning processes which can be socially just and economically and environmentally sustainable.We recognise the complexity of the issues involved. However, once one cuts through all the rhetoric, lies and subterfuge of the vested interests, the gross inequities are clear.
Large numbers of poor and underprivileged communities (mostly tribals and dalits) are being dispossessed of their livelihood and even their ways of living to make way for dams being built on the basis of incredibly dubious claims of common benefit and "national interest". For us, this is simply immoral and therefore unacceptable.
No purported benefits can be used to justify the denial of the fundamental rights of individuals in a democratic society.
And given the evidence of past megadam schemes in India and elsewhere and what has already happened in the Narmada Valley, we believe that the promised benefits will never be realised.
...In simple terms, the struggle over the river Narmada holds a mirror to our national face and challenges our commitment to professed ideals of justice, equality and democracy.