Protest against riverine control

Locals raise a banner of revolt against undesireable elements backed by mafia-turned-politicians

GN Bureau | January 27, 2010



Thousands of people have raised a banner of revolt against control of mafias over two prominent rivers of Allahabad- Ganga and Yamuna. Inhabitants of the these river beds have found their livelihood threatened by mafias who have virtually monopolised the rivers for many decades. The on-going protest is seen as culmination of a series of resistance by people from Nishad and Passi community to free themselves from clutches of these mafias who run a parallel administration in the river.

What appears to have triggered people's protest is the decision by the government to launch repressive measures against those tried to raise their voice against the undesirable elements backed by the local mafia-turned politicians. According to sources, hundreds of protesting people have been arrested while there is an attempt to declare the entire region as Naxalite-infested area by the government to subdue the popular protest. A team of civil right activists led by Justice RS Sachchar will be visiting Allahabad to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation next week.
 

Comments

 

Other News

How social media is reshaping elections

Since Brazil’s return to direct presidential elections in 1985, no candidate who finished second in the first round of polling had ever won the presidency. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, now 81, has just done it. What explains the comeback, and what changed in Brazilian politics to make it possi

Cabinet approves Dearness Allowance, Dearness Relief

The union cabinet chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the release of an additional instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from 01.07.2026 representing an increase of 3% over the existing rates of 6

Cyclone Arnab strikes Andhra as warming oceans amplify storm risks

Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh and Yanam coasts in the early hours of Wednesday as a very severe cyclonic storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125–135 kmph and gusts reaching 150 kmph. Its rapid intensification has raised concerns about how warmer oceans, global warmin

Counting matters but which ones?

The first instinct of public policy is to count. Its harder task is to count what counts. We have become remarkably good at measuring the reach of the welfare state vis-à-vis beneficiaries covered, rupees transferred, houses built, connections installed and services delivered. But some of the most

Inching closer to a trade deal with America

The cooperation between India and the United States goes back quite a time. We need to relegate that era to the backburner when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited US in the times of president Dwight Eisenhower and called the American let-off of 10 million dollars in defence aid to Pakistan as a “gun w

Manch vs Musk: Forty people and a foreign billionaire

About forty people walked the roundabout on Teen Murti Marg to the gate of Chanakyapuri police station, a distance you could cover in under a minute, on Friday to protest against Elon Musk’s Starlink. The walk was called by the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch. Nobody joined them on the way, and nobody seeme

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter