The village of Sujatpura was almost completely submerged when water gushed out of the canal, which diverts water from the Narmada River. The 20-year campaign against dam projects on the river is described by campaign group International Rivers as one of the largest social movements in the world.
"Initially, it was a crack," Express India reported a local official as saying. "However, by around 9am [on Wednesday] it developed into a
major breach and water started rushing into the nearby villages."
Environmental activist Rohit Prajapati said that this was the third major breach in the canal. He accused the government of
unaccountability and poor-quality inspection procedures, saying NGO experts, civil society and media representatives should be included in
public inquiries about the canal.
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