Karjat locals march to CM's house over dam work halt

The locals are demanding that the government restart work on the dam at the earliest. They are disappointed that construction of the dam had been put on hold on CM Prithviraj Chavan's orders.

The march, which started on April 1, is led by local MLA Suresh Lad. Until yesterday, the protesters had covered 46 km. MiD DAY caught up with the marchers when they halted at CBD Belpur for lunch. MLA Lad said, "The people participating in the march are those whose land has been affected because of the dam.

The dam construction will help in developing the taluka. It will also help supply water to numerous areas in the vicinity. In the last 40 years, its construction has been postponed many times for no reason. If anyone finds any irregularities in the work, they can take necessary action." Earlier, a public interest litigation had been filed in the Bombay High Court by Aam Aadmi Party activist Anjali Damania, seeking to halt the construction.

"I lost 30 acres of my own land, but the main issue is that the dam is not going to benefit the farmers," said Damania, who has come under fire for buying the land from two farmers in 2007, and selling it in 2011 after getting its use changed to non-agricultural purposes. She said the court has postponed the hearing of her PIL to April 8. The march will conclude today at the CM's bungalow.u00a0