MUSA BALBISIANA / ACUMINATA
Ranjit Tadvi, a farmer growing bananas by the bank of Narmadas near Jhagadia in Gujarat invested heavily in a farm in the low lying area situated in the flood plains of the river. When Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam – one of the biggest dam projects in India – became operational in 2004, Tadvi and many others was assured by the local leaders that he should stop worrying about floods from now.
“This is a multipurpose project. Flood control is one of the great benefits of the dam,” assured the local leader.
Tadvi was evacuated by a team of disaster response force last year. For three days, Tadvi and 1200 others from neighbouring villages remained in the relief camps. When he returned, he was greeted by a thick layer of mud inside his house. Mud had enveloped most of his banana farm. The next thing he heard was that heavy rains and the floods have damaged over 2500 hectares of banana crops which accounts to about 90 percent of the banana produced in the state.
A month later, Narendra Papervala, a news reporter informed that the height of the dam will be further increased to stop the flooding. “This would mean 245 villages will go under water before the water hits the dam gates,” he said last year. Tadvi is yet to understand the calculus of the submerging villages by increases dam waiting for rivers to submerge more villages when it rains.
SEASONED 