Medha Patkar

Medha Patkar ( born December 1, 1954 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian ecologist and civil rights activist.

It became known as the leader of the "Save the Narmada " ( " Narmada Bachao Andolan " ) movement, which advocates for the rights of the displaced people of large dams. Medha Patkar goes on following the example of Mahatma Gandhi in their protests.

The dam project, the fifth largest river of India, Narmada, went in 1979 in planning and involves the construction of several thousand dams of various sizes on the river, which is north of Mumbai (Bombay). 2006, the increase in the largest dam ( Sardar Sarovar Dam ) was planned from 111 to 122 meters, which meant the flooding further 220 villages. 1998-2000 she was a member of the World Commission on Dams.

For her commitment, she was the co-founder of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA ), together with Baba Amte the 1991 Right Livelihood Award.

In 1992 she received the Goldman Environmental Prize, in 1998 the Amnesty International Human Rights Award.

In 2005 she was nominated as one of the 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.