Panel against raising Narmada Dam height in Gujarat

NEW DELHI: A Central fact finding committee has warned against increasing the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river in Gujarat, saying that it could lead to a calamity bigger than the earthquake in Nepal.

In consultation with Delhi Solidarity Group, the six- member Central fact finding committee, including two members each from the CPI and Congress and as many independent experts, on May 9 and 10 visited several villages in the Narmada Valley, which are affected by the Sardar Sarovar project to find out the ground situation of the project, affected families, and extent of resettlement and rehabilitation. The committee released its report “Drowning a valley:

Destroying a civilization” from Sardar Sarovar project submergence areas in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat on Saturday.