NEARLY 5,000 tribals from different districts of Gujarat and neighbouring Maharashtra gathered on Monday at Dharampur in Valsad district to protest against the dams proposed to be constructed on Par river as part of the Union Government’s river link project. They took out a rally against the dams proposed to be built under Par-Tapi-Narmada river link project, which covers areas of south Gujarat and Nashik district in Maharashtra, and handed over a memorandum to the local mamlatdar. Congress MLA Anant Patel and Shiv Sena leader Abhinav Delkar addressed the gathering and vowed to safeguard the rights of the tribals. “Not just in Gujarat and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, we should send a message from here that the tribal community will not bend before any government,” Delkar, son of former MP Mohan Delkar, said while addressing the gathering.

 

Dharampur police station Sub Inspector SJ Parmar said 4,000-4,500 people from eastern Gujarat districts such as Valsad, Dang, Navsari, as well as from areas in Maharashtra and Dadra and Nagar Haveli took part in the protest, which went off peacefully. As per the India Water Resources Information System, the Par-Tapi-Narmada river link project proposes to transfer water from surplus regions of Western Ghats to deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch, with the work including building seven reservoirs in north Maharashtra and south Gujarat. While six reservoirs will be located in Valsad and Dang districts of Gujarat, one will be located in Nasik district of Maharashtra. The Par-Tapi reach of canal passes through Valsad, Navsari, Dang and Surat districts of south Gujarat whereas Tapi-Narmada reach of canal passes through Surat, Bharuch and Vadodara districts of Gujarat, it said.