Madhya Pradesh to drum up support for Narmada project

BHOPAL - To avoid further hurdles, the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) has decided to mobilise public support for the mega project, an official said Sunday.

An arm of the Madhya Pradesh government, NVDA will use songs, documentary films, street plays and puppet shows to garner support, its chairman K.L. Agrawal said.

He said that NVDA will also try to link the people’s religious sentiments regarding the river to the issue of development.

A theme song by singers Anuradha Podwal and Suresh Wadekar too has been prepared and the CDs will be distributed among the locals, besides being aired on Akashwani and Doordarshan.

He said that NVDA would reach out to the younger generation, especially farmers, and explain the benefits of the projects. Agrawal said the exercise will be rolled out from January.

The Narmada Valley Development Project, one of the country’s largest hydroelectric and irrigation projects, has been mired in controversy from the start, with activists alleging the mega projects will displace lakhs of people and cause immense environmental damage.