Bhan Sahu thought being poor meant walking a kilometer to school and then having to drop out when she was eight years old, until she started working at an NGO and realized there were others even less fortunate than herself. Her interest in education didn’t wane, however. Using video as a tool to bring people together, her Community Correspondent reports…

Bhan Sahu

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25 tribal families lost their farms and livelihoods to ‘development’ in 2009. They are yet to be compensated and the government is playing hard-to-get. Call the District Collector of Rajnangaon District, Chhattisgarh at 07744-224610 and demand that the compensation be paid to the families who gave away their land for the construction of the Mogra Dam Irrigation Project. Ask for change.

 For more information, read the article below:-

The village of Kumarda in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh had the ill fate of being situated in the middle of the area designated for the Mogra Dam irrigation project initiated five years ago. More than 25 families from Kumarda agreed to give up their land for this development project after being reassured about the sizable compensation they would be given.

Our correspondent and local activist Bhan Sahu says that four years after acquisition and the commencement of work, these villagers are yet to see a cent of this money. She says “The Government frames these laws so it can play mind games with the people. They think that we will wait forever even after they have left us with nothing.”

Despite many protests by the villagers since 2009 and media coverage of the issue, the administration has failed to provide them with any documentation of the process.

Mobilized by the hardship caused due to the loss of their land, a local government school teacher and other villagers preserved and managed to get their case heard by the district administration a few months ago.

Mr. Gyanchand Sahu, a local teacher and one of the victims of the project’s land acquisition, says “The District Collector’s office has assured us that we will get our compensation in a month.”

This is the same tune whistled by the powers-to-be for the last four years. Bhan Sahu hopes that this time around, the District Collector Shri Ashok Kumar Agarwal will take action and ensure justice is done.

 Call to Action: District Collector Shri Ashok Kumar Agarwal must ensure that the families of those affected in Kumarda are adequately compensated within the next month. Call the District Collector at 07744-224610 and demand that the compensation be paid at the earliest.

- Tania Deviah

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Tania is the Impact Co-ordinator at Video Volunters. She co-ordinates with the Community Correspondents and supports them in thier efforts to use thier video to bring about social change.