RAPP – BACKGROUND BEFORE I JOINED

Before the construction of the RPS dam, the  river was narrow, a channel along the extreme left. where the river bank is a steep, low profile mountain range, flat at the top, while the right bank is a gentle slope for almost a mile.

There were small villages, mere clusters of hutments, Keralites who went there initially, as RAPP workers, when local educated students were reluctant to leave their comfortable homes in the towns, told me about those days. Many of them frequented the village, in search of joy. The women were too eager to please them for a pittance!

As the dam came up, these villagers were displaced, many of them now engaged in illegal felling of forest trees, as the left bank is now totally cut off, reachable only by a very long walk, first crossing the dam, and then another two miles through the jungle.

Once Harindran and myself strolled along this path. At first, we saw some deer, curiously viewing us from a distance. We went further along the ridge and saw RAPP reactor building on the opposite bank. As we proceeded further, a man came running towards us. He had a gun, but was barefooted. So he cannot be a forest official, though there is a watch tower somewhere along. He asked us what we wanted. We explained that we were simply walking to enjoy the scenery. Apparently he was satisfied and returned to his base, running all the way. We got nervous and retraced our walk! 

As time passed, and unemployment became perceptible, local people began to take interest in joining the Project. They found almost all departments having a major presence of people from the south, especially Keralites.

There was a trade union affiliated to the INTUC. The management in Bombay wanted to create a split among the workers.

That time, there was a football tournament in the Project. Instead of forming teams of different departments,, they made teams according to different regional groups.

All football matches are unruly and quarrelsome and the one between Keralites and the local people ended in a real fight.

I do not have all the details. One night a driver or some other person was murdered and hell broke out. There were cries of KILL, KILL. Families closed their homes, fearful of anything happening. 

In the morning, Harindranathan, my cousin, went for his tea in a nearby shop. People cautioned him, about teams of able bodied men going around and attacking Keralites. He ignored it and was beaten mercilessly, till he fell down unconscious and was admitted to the Project hospital.