Jal Satyagraha: Protestors in Khandwa develop fungal infections - Hindustan Times
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Jal Satyagraha: Protestors in Khandwa develop fungal infections

Hindustan Times | ByMilind R Lashkari and Sunil Karhalkar, Indore/khandwa
Apr 21, 2015 08:10 PM IST

A bunch of farmers who have been sitting in knee-deep water in Gogalgaon village of MP's Khandwa district for the past 10 days to protest the raised level of Omkareshwar dam say they have developed skin and fungal infections.

A bunch of farmers who have been sitting in knee-deep water in Gogalgaon village of MP's Khandwa district for the past 10 days to protest the raised level of Omkareshwar dam say they have developed skin and fungal infections.

Farmers-sitting-on-the-Jal-Satyagraha-partake-of-their-meals-submerged-in-water-at-the-Omkareshwar-dam-Gogalgaon-on-Monday-HT-photo
Farmers-sitting-on-the-Jal-Satyagraha-partake-of-their-meals-submerged-in-water-at-the-Omkareshwar-dam-Gogalgaon-on-Monday-HT-photo

The 'Jal Satyagraha' is a movement by 30-odd farmers of Gogalgaon and neighbouring villages, located around 300km from Bhopal, to protest against the flooding of villages due to the government’s decision to fill up the Omkareshwar dam up to 191 meters from 189 meters.

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The protesting farmers have demanded that the district administration must compensate them with adequate money or alternate land at a safer place.

Dermatologists said that the condition of suffering activists could become worse because when the skin undergoes continuous contact with water thromboembolism –a medical condition affecting blood vessels and heart – develops.

Chief medical and health officer of Khandwa, RC Panika, admitted the possibility of skin diseases among the protestors and said that the health department has put all community health centres in the area on high alert.

Farmers, on the other hand, continued their protest on Monday without caring for any medical condition resulting from standing in water for long period of time.

The aggrieved farmers – mostly Dalits and tribals – said that the state government was 'ignoring' them.

"No one from government side or a single medical team has visited the protest site. This shows how serious our government is about farmers,” said Narmada Bachao Andolan activist and AAP leader Alok Agarwal.

Kejriwal writes to CM
Extending his support, Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejariwal wrote a letter to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and requested him to resolve the grievances of the farmers at the earliest.

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