V P Singh supports NBA agitation

New Delhi, Mar 28 (UNI) Former Prime Minister V P Singh today came out in support of the 12-day-old Narmada Bachao Andolan protest here over the decision of the Narmada Control Authority to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Addressing a press conference along with NBA leader Medha Patkar at the dharna site, Mr Singh expressed full solidarity with the NBA struggle and lashed out at the state governments, especially Madhya Pradesh, for their poor record on the rehabilitation front.

He said he had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his immediate intervention for ensuring rehabilitation of those displaced and threatened by displacement because of the dam.

This was not just a requirement under the law, but also necessary from a humanitarian point of view, he said.

The NBA has been staging a dharna here since March 17 in protest against the decision of the NCA to raise the dam height from 110.64 to 122 metres.

It says 35,000 people, most of them tribals, would be displaced from Narmada Valley because of the decision. The Government has to identify land for their resettlement and rehabilitate them fully before the dam height is raised further, the NBA says.

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