After 3 decades of relentless fighting for rehabilitation, 113 tribal families displaced by Sardar Sarovar Dam on the River Narmada in India’s Madhya Pradesh have finally had their demand fulfilled. The families have received land on which they can now build their homes again. Rakesh says that the development has raised the hopes of thousands of others like him who are still awaiting resettlement.

113 tribal families are rehabilitated after 30 years of struggle against the dam project in Chirodh. Rakesh knows a lot about the Narmada Dams. Indeed, his own family has been a victim of this gigantic project – the construction of 30 dams on the Narmada River – that has displaced thousands of villagers, and remains as a symbol of the destructive impact of massive development projects. So, from the start of his collaboration with Video Volunteers, Rakesh has used his videos as a means to voice about his experience and his fight, in parallel with his engagement in the Narmada Bachao Andolan movement. “Since I became an India Unheard Community Correspondent, I realized that there is a specific platform for me to tell all my personal stories of struggle.”

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