We are ready to fight!
Parvati*,Muttagi, India
I don’t have land, but I do have a
house.
I’m an agricultural labor on others’ land.
I make bread
at home and sell it for income. Actually my land was acquired for
a
dam long back, and I would never wish
that to anyone. That’s why
I’ve joined
this movement against the NTPC (National Thermal Power
Corporation Limited) power plant being built in my village. If the
local farmers’ fields are lost,
what will we eat?
During the
protest, the
men told us to go in front so the police
would not use
violence. But when we
reached the front of the NTPC thermal
plant
the police beat us with lathis (long
sticks) -- even I got beaten.
We were so
scared. It was my first time in an agitation. The police
chased us into hotels,the police station, even the train
station!But the farmers’ movement told us
not
to be scared. One of my relatives is in
jail. He’s a college
student, and they just
carried him off!
I am committed to fight
against NTPC. When we women worktogether, you will see what we do!
We
don’t want the NTPC power plant.
Whether they give us money, we
don’t
want the power plant. We don’t want diseases like TB,
asthma etc. We don’t
want the baby in the womb to be affected. Now
we have learned the water surrounding the thermal plant is
poisonous.
We aren’t saying anything wrong. Let
them shoot us if they want. Ultimately
we don’t want to lose our
land. We don’t
want any loss of lives on their side or our
side.
They should have had a meeting
with us farmers about the impacts of
the
power plant before starting work.
Why did the government acquire this
land? Sure, they will get rich, but what
will the poor do? What will
the future
hold for us? We are ready to fight.
*Name changed to protect identity
Nyéléni Newsletter | No. 19
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