The following open letter was written by Rajagopal PV, Ekta Parishad’s founder and president, a few days into the footmarch in Chhattisgarh.

May, 26 2005 Dear Friends

Greetings from Ekta Parishad I write concerning the ongoing foot march in Chhattisgarh. We started our march from the Rabo village and stayed at night in Tarayimal village in the Raigarh District in Chhattisgarh. Around 18-20km into this journey, we saw hundreds of acres land had been given over to industry. Some of these are in the primary stages of production and some are working. You can’t imagine the situation and condition of these villages and the villagers. Everywhere you see only black. The sky is filled with black smoke, and the trees and plants have also become black and homes and gardens are also black. I want to share the information which I am collecting during the footmarch.

1. The farmers have been pressurised into stopping vegetable cultivation because the colour of their crops is black and they are impossible to sell at market.

2. The water level has been decreasing from 300ft to 1000ft, while in the Tarayimal village the level has decreased from 15ft to 30ft. The industries are exploiting the ground water, and this has affected farmers, livestock and the lives of villagers also.

3. The women of this region feel insecure. They feel scared to go outside to wash and go to the toilet. There are some reports of sexual harassment and kidnapping of girls, and women are angry about this situation.

4. The panchayat (village councils) and gram sabha (elected council) are depressed because the government is taking no action and offering no resolution, suggestions or decisions. On one side the government is talking about the decentralisation of power but on the other side the government is denying villagers the creation of panchayats.

5. How long the village of Tarayimal will be exist is difficult to say. The village has been surrounded by big industries, and villagers are keeping silent because they live in fear of the gundas (thugs) employed by them.

6. There are so many accidents in this region and thousands of poor people have either died or been wounded.

7. I can not understand why industries continue to flout the law either by the speed of their heavy vehicles or their forceful possession of private land, the transfer of forest land into industry land, or the environmental havoc they are wreaking.

8. Even government officials fear officials from the Jindal iron and steel plant, near Raigarh. I met police, revenue, forest officials and others and they feel helpless. They say it will be difficult to live here with while taking action against the factories and industries. There is the belief the district collector and superintendent of police are both protecting the industrialists, and the faith of the people is changing to anger.

9. I do not understand why the government of Chhattisgarh is playing with the lives of so many people only to make industry happy. I hope you will think constantly about this and take steps to change this terrible situation. I am now in a satyagraha (sit in) against an industry in Mahapalli village where Ind. Agro & Synergy Ltd has grabbed the land of 15 Dalit families . We have submitted 14 demands to the government to solve the problems of these poor people.