Mumbai: A group of farmers from the Upper Wardha dam affected area staged a protest at the Mantralaya, the state secretariat, in Mumbai on Tuesday. They demanded proper compensation for their land acquired for the dam project. Some of them jumped over the safety net installed on the first floor of the building to draw attention to their plight. The police intervened and took some of them into custody.
The state government tried to pacify the protesters by holding talks with them. Minister of State Dadaji Bhuse met them and assured them that their problems would be reviewed and solved within 15 days. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also said that he had called the farmers for a meeting and that they had received a big gift on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
However, the opposition parties criticized the government for its handling of the issue. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee taunted the Modi government and said that the prices of LPG cylinders were reduced after two meetings of the opposition alliance ‘India’. NCP leader Rohit Pawar called the Modi government a ‘jumla’ government and said that the decision to reduce the cylinder prices was an election gimmick. He also said that the drought situation in Maharashtra was alarming and that the government should listen to the farmers’ voices.
The Upper Wardha dam is a gravity dam across the Wardha River, a tributary of the Godavari River, near Simbhora village in Amravati district. The dam serves various purposes such as irrigation, drinking water supply, flood management, and hydropower generation. The farmers who are affected by the dam project have been on strike for 105 days and have not received adequate compensation for their land. They have accused the government of ignoring their demands and being indifferent to their sufferings.
