Sardar Sarovar Project Affected
Resettlement site Vadchil / Shobhanagar, Maharashtra
This clip is listing of the indigenous trees in the forests in the Narmada valley before these were drowned out by the Sardar Sarovar Dam. Thirteen thousand hectares of forest has drowned in this single dam alone.
This listing is narrated by Girdhar Guruji, a founding member of Narmada Jeevanshalas/ schools and an adivasi leader of the NBA. With his immense knowledge and skills, at one point, Girdhar Guruji became one of the driving forces in overseeing the working of all Jeevanshalas. So respected is he as a teacher that now, people far and near know him as Girdhar Guruji (teacher).
Girdhar Guruji was keen that the children in the Narmada Jeevanshalas learn about the indigenous trees in their forests and villages in the Narmada valley, submerged by the Sardar Sarovar Dam.
It is important that there is a record of the trees that once stood tall in the Narmada valley before they were either felled before submergence or drowned out by the Sardar Sarovar Dam, if not already felled. It is important that this knowledge remains, because the studies of flora and fauna to be adversely impacted by the SSP were never completed/done by the government.
Interview duration:
0:01:32
Language:
Marathi and Pawari, with subtitles in English
Subtitles can be switched on and off by clicking ‘CC’ button at the bottom right of the video