Jal Neta plans march for Ramdev

NARNAUL/ NEW DELHI: After a sit in by Anna Hazare and his supporters, now a padyatra will be held against the midnight police crackdown on Baba Ramdev’s supporters at Ramlila Maidan.A former Haryana MLA Raghu Yadav, popularly known as the JalNeta of Haryana, will take out a padayatra from Narnaul to RashtrapatiBhawan—about 130km — starting this Wednesday.Yadav toldTOI that he and his supporters decided to march to Delhi in five days at amahapanchayat in Narnaul. “Different groups will join us at Rewari andGurgaon. We expect at least 50 people to be on the move at any giventime,” he added. Yadav emerged as the Jal Neta of Ahirwal region in southHaryana, which has been facing a perennial water crisis. He and his supporterswere lathicharged on August 10, 1993, when they were holding a peacefuldemonstration for equitable distribution of water after being granted permissionfrom the then Congress government.“In both the cases peoplewere using their democratic rights. In 1993 also, Congress was in power and theybrought cops from Madhuban to crush the protesters. Our pandals wereuprooted”, Yadav, a qualified civil engineer from MS University, Gujarat,recalled.In the late eighties Yadav pioneered the cause of judiciousdistribution of canal water in Haryana. The leader launched “BerojgarSena” and a campaign called “work for every hand” in 1983.Yadav was served a show cause notice thrice, even when he was a ruling party MLAin the Indian National Lok Dal, for raising issues that questioned thegovernment’s intent.