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- By Parinda News Bureau, April 15, 2006, 11:12 IST
Booker's Prize Winner and high profile social activist Arundhati Roy seemed insecure when Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan paid a visit to anti-Narmada dam agitators sitting on hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar Road in New Delhi . The 20-day-old strike is to demand that the height of the dam should not be raised.
Aamir was accompanied by actor Kunal Kapoor and some people from the film industry.
Aamir talked to the agitators with patience, listened to their grievances. He said that he is not aware of the technicalities but is aware that the dam would displace a lot of farmers. Until those people are rehabilitated, the height of the dam should not be increased, the actor had said.
Later, the actor also visited the 1984 Bhopal gas victims who have been demonstrating for release of relief fund.
Aamir said that he would appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to give immediate attention to these two issues.
A huge crowd gathered at the spot to get a glimpse of the heartthrob Bollywood star.
Roy , already on the same bandwagon, seems scared that Bollywood movie star Aamir Khan may hijack the entire movement.
Her instant, wary response to Aamir's presence at the site of dharna was to bring up his endorsement of coke. The connection between the two themes – coke and Narmada – is that the manufacturers of coke have been polluting the rivers. She has asked Khan to withdraw from endorsing Coke.
“It is like objecting to Arundhati's presence in the same movement because her publishers have evaded the Income Tax,” commented an activist loyal to Medha Patkar. “Medha wouldn't be worried about the star presence but Arundhati always looks at publicity angle.”
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