Pressreleases / Text :
24.02.00 : India /Maheshwar: INDEFINITE
SATYAGRAHA BEGINS
Sender: owner-irn-narmada@netvista.net
Precedence: bulk 24th February, 2000
Affected People Establish Sangharsh Gaon: People prepare for a long
haul Today, on 24th of February, several thousand people affected
by the Maheshwar Project, including a large number of women, gathered
in front of the Shree Maheshwar Hydel Power Project gate near Mandleshwar
to begin an indefinite satyagraha. The affected people established
a ` Sangharsh Gaon' (village of struggle) directly across the road
in front of the main gate of the S. Kumars Project, where they intend
to sit on satyagraha for the next few months or as long as it takes
to achieve their demands. The mood was upbeat as large number of people
arrived with their bags and bundles preparing to stay at the site
of struggle for many days. Work on readying the site for today's satyagraha
started yesterday as the ground cleared and tents were hoisted. Preparations
were completed today and more tents were put up, a gate was constructed
and numerous banners announcing resistance were set up. A kitchen
has also been organised where grains and cooking vessels collected
from various villages have been set up. It is clear that the Maheshwar
people are making preparations for a long haul. At the site, there
is a palpable air of enthusiasm and resolve as the struggle against
the Maheshwar Project enters a decisive phase. The people are determined
to persevere with their opposition and to sit on satyagraha at the
` Sangharsh Gaon' till the government responds to their demands and
scraps the project in favor of better and cheaper alternatives. This
phase of satyagraha continues the indefinite action which began on
11th January. On that day around 4,000 affected had marched on to
the dam site and captured it despite heavy police pressure. Around
1,000 people were arrested and put in jail. That same night the administration
attempted to release these people. the people however refused to vacate
the jail till their questions were answered and embarked on satyagraha
within the jail itself. They sent a petition to the Chief Minister
asking him to establish the public utility of the Project, establish
the cost of electricity, and specify the amount of cultivable land
available for rehabilitation. The answers to their questions, when
they came, were completely inadequate and established beyond doubt
that the government had no answers to the most basic questions raised
by the people, regarding the project. Seeing this the people took
out a rally from jail and reiterated their determination to continue
the struggle till their questions were satisfactorily answered and
the Project was scrapped. The current phase of satyagraha demands
that the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Ministry of Power
scrap the Environmental clearance and the Techno-economic clearance
respectively that has been granted to the Maheshwar project. It is
evident that the project is being continued despite violations of
the conditions of these clearances. Neither the government or S. Kumars
has been able to establish the public utility of the Project and it
is certain that the electricity produced by the Project will be expensive
and beyond the reach of the average consumer. Even more grave is the
fact that so far no cultivable land has been shown as available for
the rehabilitation of project-affected people. Given this, the Maheshwar
project should be scrapped and the alternatives to the Project should
be seriously reconsidered. Supporting the Maheshwar affected people
in their struggle and participating in today's satyagraha are representatives
from other dam projects in the Narmada Valley, including people affected
by Sardar Sarovar, Veda, Man and Goi projects. People from other organizations
in Madhya Pradesh, including KMCS (Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath),
are also taking part in the satyagraha. The program was also addressed
by representatives from adjoining villages such as Sanjay Joshi of
village Pipalgaon and Krishna Patidar of village Karondia. Today's
satyagraha began with an invocation to the Mother Narmada, the nurturer
of the people of the Valley for millennia. The Sabha was conducted
by Urmila Patidar of village. Pathrad, Kalusingh Mandloi and Sanjay
Nigam of village Mardana were the first to address the Sabha and they
detailed the reasons for this indefinite satyagraha which include
the certainty that this Project is not in the public interest and
will lead to the pauperization of displaced people. Sushilabai of
Mardana and Kamlabai of Pathrad spoke about the role of women in the
struggle. Women have had to leave their domestic spheres and come
out into the `chougan' or public arena because their homes and livelihoods
are headed for destruction. Ramsingh Mandloi, Sarpanch of Mardana,
said that the unprecedented victory of candidates opposing the Maheshwar
Project in the recent panchayat elections affirms the large scale
opposition against the Project. Kemat Singh and Vania Bhawaria of
the Khedut Mazdoor Chetna Sangath (KMCS) said that their organization
supports the NBAís struggle and would participate fully in this satyagraha.
Alok Agarwal, a prominent activist of the NBA and leader of the Maheshwar
struggle, said that people affected by the Maheshwar Project have
come out to the streets today and will be there for an indefinite
period after this, in order to establish the truth of this project.
This is a project that will lead to public destruction and the people
will not allow the country to be looted in the name of `public good'.
He called upon all other public organizations, intellectuals, and
all other people who were concerned about the future of development
in this country to understand the reality of the project and to join
the struggle against it so that the unjust destruction of peoples
lives and livelihoods can be stopped.
Mangat Verma Village Lepa
Urmila Patidar Village
Pathrad Ramsingh Mandloi Village
Mardana Alok Agarwal Chittaroopa Palit
Visit the Friends of River Narmada at www.narmada.org
23.02.00 : Call: March
14: International Day of Action against Dams and for Rivers, Water and
Life.Today more than 37 actions are planned in 20 countries
Extracted from IRNs call :,
Dear Friends,
The Day of Action is three weeks away, and the list of groups participating
is growing each day. More than 37 actions are planned in 20 countries
to protest against dams and speak out for free-flowing rivers and
the communities that depend on them. We urge you to join us on March
14 for the Day of Action. We are very excited about this year's Day
of Action and look forward to standing together in solidarity against
dams on March 14! For more information visit our web page at
http://www.irn.org/dayofaction .
Susanne Wong
International Rivers Network swong@irn.org
22.02.00: Poland / Nieszawa dam project
: independent technical expert group examines all concerns and alternatives,
before it will make a final decision
ERN, 23.02.00 - The Polish Cabinet decided yesterday
to insist that an independent technical expert group examines all
concerns and alternatives, before it will make a final decision on
whether to build a new $250 million Nieszawa dam on the Vistula River.
The day bevor, at a press conference in Warsaw on Monday, a coalition
of Polish NGOs (IUCN Poland, Wedkarski Swiat, Klub Gaja, Ecological
Forum WU, and OTOP/BirdLife International) and the WWF presented a
critique of the Ministry of Environment's proposal. The critique exposed
the flaws in the proposal, which justified the building of a new dam
to urgently safeguard the existing dam and reduce flooding. The NGO
group also explained that the Nieszawa dam construction would not
be technically or economically viable, and that it would involve unacceptable
costs to the environment and local people.
additional Information see
ERN
News 18.02.00
WWF Pressrelease 23.02.00:
18.02.00 : Vistula URGENT
- HELP NEEDED FOR VISTULA
from "Klub Gaja", Poland
Dear Friends URGENT REQUEST FOR HELP - PLEASE SEND
YOUR VERSION OR COPY OF THE SUGGESTED LETTER BELOW BY POST, FAX AND/OR
E-MAIL TO MEMBERS OF THE POLISH GOVERNMENT AS LISTED. We would be
grateful if you could send by E-Mail, fax and post the letter below
to the members of Polish government as listed. Please pass on this
message to any other groups as you feel appropriate. If it is only
possible for a number of groups to add their names on to one E-Mail
or one fax or letter then please do this, whichever way is most possible.
Latest Developments
The Polish Ministerial Economic Committee has decided
during a meeting on the 11th of February to advise the Polish Ministerial
Board which includes the Prime Minister to support the building of
the proposed dam at Nieszawa-Ciechocinek on the lower Vistula river.
The Polish government has scheduled the point of Nieszawa-Ciechocinek
for their meeting on Tuesday 22nd February. We are holding a press
conference (conference with WWF) on Monday, 21st February and will
be holding a protest action outside the Polish government where the
meeting will be held on Tuesday, 22nd at 9.30 am just prior to the
start of the meeting. Please send your letters of support of the option
to build no more dams on the Vistula urgently.
Brief Background to ourselves and the Vistula River
We write from Stowarzyszenie Ekologiczno-Kulturalne "Klub Gaja" (Ecological
and Cultural Association "Klub Gaja"). SEK "Klub Gaja" is an independent,
non-governmental organisation which has led the national campaign
"Teraz Wisla" ("Vistula Now") for several years. This
campaign works to stop the building of a cascade of seven dams on
the lower Vistula river and to work towards the development of alternative
methods of working with the river and its valley to enable social
and ecological needs to be met. The Vistula River, known in Poland
as the "Queen of Polish Rivers" is one of Europe's largest rivers
and one which remains close to its natural state with very close to
natural river dynamics, unique and rare habitats, flora and fauna.
In terms of naming, the Vistula is divided into 3 sections, the upper,
middle and lower Vistula, due to its different characteristics in
these three sections. Ecologically it is one of Europe's most important
corridoors linking the Dniestre Basin and the Danube to Scandinavia
and Siberia. The Vistula rises in south west Poland and runs northwards
through the centre of the country finally forming a delta which runs
into the Baltic Sea. In addition to its ecological value, there is
tremendous cultural heritage along the Vistula. The Vistula provides
a unique opportunity for Poland to develop in a pro-ecological, sustainable
way. The building of the cascade series would take away this opportunity
for new ways of development. Between the middle and lower Vistula
is one existing large dam located at Wloclawek which has had many
negative effects. The Current Situation The Wloclawek dam has erosion
of the riverbed by 3 metres on its downstream side. Behind the dam
is a collection of 30 years pollution of untreated city, town and
village waste and heavy industrial pollution. This sediment is highly
toxic and has formed a strange substance which in some places is 3
to 5 metres deep. The argument is that the second dam is necessary
to reduce erosion and stop the first dam collapsing. Some scientists
do not agree with this argument and have other ideas such as the building
of a by-pass. Forced by civil actions and scientific opinion a study
was commissioned by the Ministry of Environment to examine 3 options:
1) to keep the existing dam at Wloclawek only; 2) to build one more
dam at Ciechocinek; 3) to build the full cascade. At the beginning
of 1999 a consortium was established to build the next dam in the
cascade series at Nieszawa-Ciechocinek. This consortium includes the
largest Polish company Elektrim and the international giant ABB. The
decision whether to build the next dam at Nieszawa- Ciechocinek is
a political one. Our sources of information lead us to believe that
the Polish government are ready to vote in favour of the building
of the next dam at Nieszawa-Ciechocinek.
*** The Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
Please write
FOR THE ATTENTION OF SZ. P JERZY BUZEK Sz.P
Jerzy Buzek Premier RP Al. Ujazdowskie 1/3 00-950 Warszawa Poland
Tel: + 48 22 694 69 83 Fax: + 48 22 62 86 846 E-Mail: premier@kprm.gov.pl
(to the premier) and copy to rzecznik@kprm.gov.pl (press office of
the premier, please mark for the attention of SzP Jerzy Buzek)
*** The Minister of Foreign Affairs Sz.P Bronislaw
Gieremek Minister Spraw Zagranicznych al. Szucha 23 00-580 Warszawa
Poland Tel: + 48 22 628 96 23 (to the Ministry) Tel: + 48 22 5239
766 (second choice telephone number:to the press office of the Ministry)
Fax: + 48 22 625 76 52 (to the Ministry) Fax: + 48 22 52 38 079 (fax
number to the press office of the Ministry, please mark for the attention
of SzP Bronislaw Gieremek) E-Mail: jerzy.marganski@msz.gov.pl (first
choice E-Mail to the Director of the Minister's Secretariat, please
mark for the attention of SzP Bronislaw Gieremek) E-Mail: rzecznik@msz.gov.pl
(E-Mail to press office of Ministry, please mark for the attention
of SzP Bronislaw Gieremek)
*** Minister of Environment Sz.P Antoni Tokarczuk
Minister Srodowiska Ministerstwo Srodowiska ul. Wawelska 52/54 00-922
Warszawa Poland Tel: + 48 22 8 25 33 32 or Tel and fax: + 48 22 825
72 79 Fax: + 48 22 825 33 26 to the Minister (try this number first
if unsuccessful, please try: Fax: + 48 22 825 88 50 (Press Office
for Ministry, please mark for the attention of SzP Antoni Tokarczuk)
E-Mail: kkarpins@mos.gov.pl (to press office for Ministry, please
mark for the attention of SzP Antoni Tokarczuk) Please also send us
a copy of your letter to: klub@gaja.most.org.pl Fax: + 48 33 8 12
36 94 SEK "Klub Gaja" PO Box 261 43-301 Bielsko-Biala 1 Poland
SAMPLE LETTER: Dear We are the (NAME OF ORGANISATION).
It has come to our attention that the Polish government is to make
a decision about the future of the lower Vistula river and its valley.
We here express our deep concern about the proposed plan to build
new stages of fall in the lower Vistula River relating to the "Lower
Vistula Cascade" project and further to express our belief that a
decision in favour of building any new dams would be seriously flawed.
The Vistula is one of Europe's largest rivers and one which remains
close to its natural state. The Vistula River is very important for
Europe, it has unique and rare habitats, flora, fauna, very close
to natural river dynamics and tremendous biodiversity. In addition,
it is one of Europe's most important ecological corridoors. Information
received from the Ecological and Cultural Association "Klub Gaja"
relays that the Polish government has to decide from three options
relating to the development of the lower Vistula. In our opinion the
variation which does not propose the building of any new dams is good
as this variation provides the best opportunities for nature, culture
and people. Additionally, the building of any new dams would be against
Poland's current commitments to a number of international Conventions
including Resolutions under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and
the Berne Convention. We urge the Polish government to take the best
of the three options, the option which does not propose the building
of any new dams. We look forward to receiving your reply. Yours sincerely
++ From everyone here at Klub Gaja we thank you very
much for your support. Jacek Bozek, President and Sally Naylor, International
Co-Ordinator Stowarzyszenie Ekologiczno-Kulturalne "Klub Gaja" PO
Box 261 43-301 Bielsko-Biala 1 Poland Tel/fax: + 48 33 8 12 36 94
E-Mail: klub@gaja.most.org.pl ++
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