Another Sholay-style protest in Narmada: Two project displacees, ex-Statue of Unity staffer climb telecom tower
In another 'Sholay'-style protest in Narmada district, three tribal men kept the district police and the Statue of Unity (SoU) authorities on their toes on Saturday after they climbed a mobile transmission tower in Gora village near the structure.
After 12 hours of efforts, authorities managed to convince two of them, who were demanding government employment as compensation for displacement, to climb down the tower. The third person, who was seeking to be reinstated in his job at the SoU, remained on the tower at the time of going to press at 9pm.
The three men — identified as Praveen Ranchhod Tadvi from Pansoli Vasahat (village), Balu Sera Tadvi from Baroli Vasahat, and Mahesh Vikram Tadvi from Seemadiya Vasahat – climbed up the mobile tower around 9 am on Saturday, sending the Statue of Unity Area Development and Tourism Governance Authority (SOUDTGA) in a state of panic even as the district police rushed in to provide security at the area.
While Praveen and Balu demanded government employment for which Narmada displacees have 'repeatedly been given false assurances', Mahesh's demand was to be reinstated in his contractual job at SoU from where he had been fired after being booked in a case of Prohibition for allegedly reporting to work in an inebriated state.
Following daylong negotiations with the authorities, Praveen and Balu descended from the tower around 8.30pm after being promised a hearing with the state government officials.
Praveen and Balu demanded that the state government provide men from the Narmada project-affected families with employment, on the lines of the Madhya Pradesh compensation award, by amending the conditions of the relief handed out to the affected persons in Gujarat.
The two men, during the negotiations, told the officials that they had been 'fooled long enough as multiple petitions by displaced families to change the conditions of the compensation had not been considered for over two decades.'
A senior official of SOUADTGA told The Indian Express that Praveen and Balu agreed to descend the tower after being given an undertaking that they will be given a hearing with the state government on May 5.
Mahesh, however, refused to relent.
Narmada District Superintendent of Police Prashant Sumbe told this newspaper: 'We are looking into his case details. What we primarily know is that he had been fired by the outsourcing agency some time ago, when he had reported to work in an inebriated state… He has been demanding reinstatement and is unwilling to budge. The negotiations are ongoing with the SoU authorities as the police are only providing security for law and order.'
An official said Mahesh has filed a litigation against the agency and SoU after being fired from employment. The SoU official said, 'We are urging him to get off the tower as it is also dark now. But he is unwilling. The negotiating officer has suggested that he can withdraw the court case and a fresh dialogue can be considered for his reinstatement but he is unwilling to come down unless he is given an undertaking of his reinstatement… We are trying to get him to agree to come down to safety.'
Another police official said that the police 'could not interfere or force' the person to descend, considering the risk of a fatal fall. Teams of the SoU fire brigade as well as multiple teams of the district administration and police are stationed at the mobile tower in Gora to convince Mahesh.
Sumbe said that Praveen and Balu had been taken to the local district hospital for treatment.
Saturday's incident is another in the series of Sholay-like (inspired by the 1975 blockbuster) protests that have been witnessed in the district.
In February, over a month after the Narmada district police had stationed round-the-clock guards and increased police patrolling across all accessible transmission tower installations to deter people indulging in such protests, the Additional District Magistrate of Narmada District had issued a notification making it mandatory for the utilities and telecom companies to ensure fencing and deployment of guards to prevent unauthorised persons from climbing up the towers.
Deputy Sarpanch of Gora village, Jyotindra Tadvi, meanwhile, said that 'thick-skinned' authorities had 'left no option' for the protesting men. 'Today, three men have climbed the tower out of frustration as no one is willing to hear poor people like us… We have been displaced, our fertile lands taken away and the relocations have done no good to most… In the coming days, if the government does not consider the requests and take adequate steps to correct the injustice, many more youths from Gora village will be forced to climb mobile towers like this.'
In December, last year, The Indian Express had reported that as many as 35 transmission towers in the periphery of SoU had been put under 'round-the-clock security' while patrolling, especially in the wee hours, has been increased.
The decision had come a few days after a man and a woman from Narmada-affected villages climbed up a telecom tower in Kevadia colony on December 6, 2024, seeking that their demands from the 2016 protests be met. The duo agreed to descend almost five hours later, after the Sardar Sarovar Punarvasahat Agency (SSPA) officials assured them that their demands would be forwarded to the government.
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