Social activist Medha Patkar, who is in Hyderabad to attend an event by the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), was made to return from a house in Chaderghat by police on Monday. Patkar will chair a session on Tuesday on the role of political parties and people’s movements in defending the Constitution and democracy.
The 70-year-old environmentalist, known for leading the Narmada Bachao Andolan in Gujarat, made a quiet visit to a fellow activist’s home in the morning. The police asked Patkar to leave the locality, apparently sensing potential tension in the event of her visiting the stretch of the Musi river where people are being relocated as part of a rejuvenation project similar to the Sabarmati project in Gujarat.
However, the police have denied this as the reason for sending Patkar back. G Shyam Sunder, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Malakpet), told indianexpress.com that the activist was sent back keeping the law and order situation in mind.
Medha patkar in Hyderabad leaving a fellow activist’s home after being asked to by Hyderabad police on Monday. Video: arranged pic.twitter.com/9XL6Hvo90x
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“If a national leader of her stature is visiting a home in the neighbourhood, at least the local police have to be informed. Without following the protocol of obtaining police permission, how can she be invited to a home here? What if something happens to her here? She was brought to the home as if she was a gully leader,” the ACP said, denying any connection of the incident to the Musi rejuvenation project.
Activists associated with the NAPM say Patkar’s visit was not part of any planned public action against the Musi project but rather an impromptu one to meet some residents and families facing displacement due to the project.
“The police requested her not to take up a public march or protest at this time because there is no police permission. She asserted that she has the right to visit any families or talk to people, and affected people also have a right to protest if they are being displaced. She left after completing her visit,” Kiran Kumar Vissa of the NAPM told indianexpress.com.
The Musi rejuvenation project is one of the flagship programmes of the Congress government, which came to power in December 2023. Along with reviving the dead river, the government has promised to create a vibrant urban public space along the river with amenities for recreation, tourism, and commercial activities. According to the government’s plan, about 15,000 families currently living along the 55-km stretch of the river will be relocated.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
