Tribal bodies join forces to protest against govt’s bullet train project

MUMBAI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lay the foundation stone for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project in Gujarat, tribals in Maharashtra and Gujarat will meet tehsildars of tribal areas that will be impacted by the project and submit letters of protest.

Tribals and farmers affiliated to 24 organisations across Maharashtra and Gujarat have joined forces to oppose the Modi government’s proposed showpiece projects such as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), the freight corridor, Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train and the Mumbai-Vadodara expressway.

The projects pass through tribal belts in Maharashtra and Gujarat such as Thane, Dahanu, Palghar, Navsari, Valsad and UT of Dadra-Nagar Haveli.

Vinod Dumada, an activist with Maharashtra’s Adivasi Ekta Parishad, said, “We are not against development, but we will oppose it if it is done at the cost of tribal life. The local tribal population will lose its land, livelihood to roads and industries. This area might progress with big buildings, malls and factories, but the original resident tribals will be driven out. The government hasn’t given tribals the capacity to absorb this development.”

In Maharashtra, activists plan to meet tehsildars of Dahanu, Palghar and Talasari tehsils on Thursday. Similarly in Gujarat, activists across tehsils will give their protest in writing to tehsildar’s offices, said Jayesh Patel, an activist working with Ahmedabad-based Khedu Samaj Gujarat.

“Vast tracts of land on either side of the freight corridor are being set aside for industrial use and this will result in farmers losing their livelihood. We question the very need for an industrial corridor and transport projects along this route passing through scheduled areas,” he said.