Omkareshwar Residents Shut Town Over Simhastha 2028 Rehabilitation, Present 19-Point Demands

Residents of Omkareshwar, the Narmada riverside pilgrimage town in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district, began a town-wide bandh on Monday, October 19, in protest against development work linked to the preparations for Simhastha 2028. The shutdown was described as a two-day closure.

The residents presented the administration with a list of 19 demands, but no agreement was reached. They are asking for fair compensation, dignified rehabilitation, job security and alternative arrangements before anyone is displaced. They object in particular to a proposed rehabilitation site at Dukiya, saying that moving families away from the religious and tourist areas would directly hurt their income.

Much of the town's economy depends on pilgrims. Hotels, restaurants, flower and prasad shops, boat operators, auto-rickshaw drivers and priests all earn from visitors. The auto union, the Panda Sangh, the boatmen's association and the traders' association backed the protest. Residents who called for the shutdown on Sunday evening included Pt Navalkishore Sharma, Pt Sunil Sharma, Santosh Goswami, Champa Bai, Dinesh Painter, councillor Rajesh Yadav, Sanjay Parashar, Chetan Khandelwal and Gajendra Agrawal.

If the bandh is widely observed, visiting pilgrims may find it hard to get food, prasad, local transport and boats to cross the Narmada.

Residents stress that they are not against development. They want the Simhastha preparations to go ahead without sacrificing the rights and futures of local families, and their slogan calls for unity. The administration has said it is open to dialogue, and later reports show that talks on a rehabilitation policy and surveys continued. Visitors planning a trip to Omkareshwar are advised to check local conditions before travelling.