It is never too late to stop the dam: Arundhati Roy

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, AUG. 24. It was Ms. Arundhati Roy who virtually led a spirited protest march and addressed a public meeting in support of the 70-odd tribal children from the Narmada Valley who are in the capital these days; and the Booker Prize winner minced no words criticising the Supreme Court for its recent judgment on the Sardar Sarovar Project, and the Government for ruining the lives of ``innocent'' tribals.

Making her ``statement of solidarity'' at a public meeting organised by Ramjas College's History Society, Ms. Roy said the judgment giving the go-ahead to resume construction work had come as a ``severe blow'' to the entire movement being spearheaded by the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). ``But it is never too late to stop a big dam'' was her firm message to the protesters as well as the gathering.

Ms. Roy said that during court hearings, it was stated that no proper clearances on environmental, ecological and social issues were taken; also not a single village had been resettled as per the Narmada Tribunal directions; and it was the Madhya Pradesh Government, the State which had a share of 80 per cent oustees, which produced an affidavit stating that it could not provide land for rehabilitation; and, despite this, the court ruled that the dam should be built.

``All our evidences were overlooked....Even our review petition was rejected within minutes without giving any second thought. And now we are charged with contempt of court, and threatened with jail sentence,'' said the NBA activist. ``But we stand by what we said and we believe in it.''

Taking a dig at her opponents, Ms. Roy said they accused her of misusing her celebrity status. ``I am not a celebrity endorsing a product or commodity, I'm supporting a cause. Mine is not a commercial motive. We have our own moral jurisdiction and every right to fight for the rights of these tribal people.''

Asking people to come out openly in support of the people of Narmada Valley, Ms. Roy said: ``Do not believe in what we have to say. But just go through the facts and figures about the SSP and what havoc it has played upon four lakh oustees, a majority of whom are tribals and poor villagers. All kind of governance has failed for these people.''

Later in the evening, the Narmada Valley children, who are students of NBA-run ``Jeevan Shalas'', along with NBA activists were not allowed to take out a march from Shaheed Park to Mandi House. After much slogan-shouting and stiff resistance, police took them in a bus and dropped them at Mandi House where they staged a protest.

It has been four long days of protests and public meetings in the capital for the delegation from the Narmada Valley. Now their only hope lies in the reply from the President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, in response to the memorandum addressed to him and presented to his Joint Secretary on Thursday.

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