Followup - On Medha Patkar



I'm gladdened to learn that Saifuddin Soz, Minister for Water Resources and Meira Kumar, Minister for Social Justice visited Medha Patkar and persuaded her to end her fast. But Patkar refused claiming that the government should make some 'visible' progress. It is understandable considering how the government has treated Narmada issue in the past.

As a followup of this, the government is preparing a report on the Narmada dam project and its impact on the river and the people. Three union ministers will visit the affected areas to provide inputs to the report.

It is quite heartwarming to know that peaceful protests still disturb the powers-that-be. I thank our prime minister for these steps.

Here, I must state that the previous NDA government had a very callous attitude towards the Narmada project. The senior leaders of BJP often spoke in an impetuous manner and generally they remained quite rigid towards environmental issues.

And finally, I hope that the report and the visits result in some progress and Medha Patkar ends her fast.