‘Taking the water away from us’: Why Adivasi fishers are opposing a floating solar plant

On September 7, a few hundred fishers, mostly Adivasis, participated in a bike rally to protest a proposed floating solar power project on the Panchet dam. It is a 66-year-old multipurpose project located across the river Damodar, along the border of the eastern states of West Bengal and Jharkhand.

The rally started from Maheshnadi checkpost in Neturia block of Purulia district, West Bengal, and travelled a five-km stretch to Panchet Zero Point in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district.

The fishers staged a demonstration, shouting slogans like “DVC Murdabaad” (down with DVC), “DVC hosiayar” (beware), and “solar project bandh karo” (scrap the solar project).

DVC refers to the Damodar Valley Corporation, a public sector utility that owns and operates the Panchet dam, where floating solar power projects of 105 MW capacity have already been awarded for development. A similar or higher capacity is awaiting the tender process.

Fishers who have been relying on the dam’s waters for their livelihoods allege that nearly 1,500 families would not only lose their livelihoods but also their primary source of affordable nutrition, solely due to the first phase of the project. They have called for a public gathering at Panchet on October 15, calling for the scrapping of the project.

“About 1,500 families of three panchayats in Nituria...

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