With the increase in water level of Sardar Sarovar Dam, several kilometer area in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district is submerging in the backwater of the dam.
On August 25, the backwater level rose to 133 metres, which is 6.5 metres above the danger mark, leaving thousands of trees, large chunk of agricultural land and human settlements in Nisarpur village of the Dhar district.
The village Nisarpur is around two centuries old and has a population of around 10,000.
It is located on the banks of the Uri Baghini river and water released from the Sardar Sarovar Dam over the past 20 days had caused the river level to rise continuously, Devendra Kumar Kamdar, a leader of the dam's affected people and president of a local traders union told.
A senior official of the Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) of Madhya Pradesh government, said, "On Sunday, level of Sardar Sarovar Dam's backwater, located about four kilometres from Nisarpur, reached 133 metres, which is 6.5 metres above the danger mark.”
"After heavy rain, water is being released from dams built on Narmada and its tributaries, including Uri Baghini. The water level near Nisarpur is rising rapidly," he added.
Around half the villages in the vicinity have been evacuated. The situation also highlighted the irregularities and discrepancies in the government's compensation distribution mechanism and the resettlement of displaced.