Date:11/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/11/stories/2006051105401000.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Unconcerned move

The article "Abandoning the displaced" (OP-ED, May 10) is timely and thought provoking. It is unfortunate that the authorities remain unconcerned and unmoved despite NBA leader Medha Patkar's recent fast that evoked nationwide concern.

Our concept of development is pro-rich — simply refusing to be just and considerate to the weaker sections of society. The displaced should not be abandoned under any circumstances. Development at their cost militates against our ethos.

N.K. Vijayan,
Kizhakkambalam, Kerala

The fear that the establishment will now be emboldened to kiss the abandoned goodbye will be shared by many.

C.P. Srinivasan,
Chennai

The article is in keeping with the recent trend — any opinion that is against the oustees is unjust or uncalled for. It is better to think of ways of speeding up rehabilitation, rather than advocate stopping work on the Narmada dam.

K.V. Subba Rao,
Hyderabad

One would have expected the highest judicial body as well as the NHRC to come to the rescue of the dam-affected people in right earnest. Had it not been for Ms. Patkar and the NBA, the entire country would have been blissfully ignorant of the plight of the displaced, believing that everything about the Narmada Valley Project is perfect.

Charukesi Viswanathan,
Chennai