A group of protesters who have spent the last 17 days in neck-deep water in Madhya Pradesh have accomplished some of their goals today.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:
- Nearly 50 farmers and activists have been on a "jal satyagraha" in the Khandwa district asking the government to reduce the amount of water in the Omkareshwar dam on the Narmada river.
- The protesters say their farmland and villages are being submerged by water and that the government is making no attempt to rehabilitate or compensate them.
- The BJP government in the state has agreed to reduce the amount of water in the Omkareshwar dam.
- Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also said that farmers will be given "land for land" compensation - that those whose farms have been affected will be given new pieces of land.
- The Omkareshwar dam is linked to a huge power project .
- According to the protesters, the government's decision to increase the water level of the dam on the Narmada river without rehabilitating people living in low-lying villages nearby is a violation of a Supreme Court order, which says villagers must be rehabilitated at least six months before such a move is implemented.
- A panel of three ministers will supervise the rehabilitation package for farmers
- The breakthrough for the farmers comes as a team from the Union Power Ministry was to visit the area.
- The Madhya Pradesh government had been criticized for ignoring the farmers and their protests till extensive media coverage turned the demonstration into a national headline
- The protest saw farmer in a relay of sorts, with different groups taking turns to immerse themselves in water.
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(With inputs from Agencies)
