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 main canal. From main canal it could be fed into the entire network of smaller canals which had covered Kuchch and Saurashtra as well. The canal network was ready but restrictions imposed by the Government and the Court meant that Narmada water could not be released in that main canal. Farmers were the worst hit by this tragic situation; in the South due to flooding and in rest of the State due to drought. There was a total loss of crops in both regions. On the one hand, there were those supporting the dam and on the other hand were various NGOs who were opposing the construction, who had even created international pressure against the dam and through legal battles had secured restrictions from the Court. Like most other Gandhian social workers, Bipinbhai and Gunwantbhai were strong opponents of the dam but after that discussion they changed their stand. Joshi himself had not been involved with Narmada issue earlier but when he saw the way farmers were suffering, he decided to get involved. They decided that on 4 December 1999 they would do Narmada Jan Andolan. It would involve all farmers going to the dam site, form a human chain, draw a pot of water from the dam, pass it on along that human chain, and eventually empty the pot in the main canal. They were certain to be arrested but it would be registered that not everybody was opposed to the dam water being released through the main canal. The agitation was to be organized under the auspices of Gujarat Khedut Samaj. They called this agitation as Kar Seva, holy service. Along with Bipinbhai and Gunwantbhai, Joshi spent several weeks traveling through Gujarat and making speeches. The point he used to stress was that in this entire debate in which various NGOs, environmentalists, writers, journalists, lawyers and politicians were involved, somehow the voice of the farmers was never heard though they were to be the biggest beneficiaries 280

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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage