Patkar, who has been leading the campaign against the dam project for over a decade, said construction for the 11-meter raising in the dam's height has already begun without any clear resettlement of many more villages that will now be flooded.

She had earlier appealed to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, against the move and courted arrest along with 145 others while trying to block entry to a government office.

She said the Government's apathy towards it own people was forcing them to fight.

"Thousands of families are in the flooding areas whose life will be in danger this year when the rains hit the plains. Work on the dam is continuing and the State Ministers have refused to stop the work and these people are working towards sacrificing their farmers and labours. So, in such a situation, we have no option left but to fight," she said.

Arundhati Roy, a known anti-dam campaigner, also joined in the protest singing along and motivating the tribals.

Environmentalists have over the years fiercely opposed the Sardar Sarovar dam project on the Narmada, saying the fallout of displacing millions by the project far out-weights the benefits flowing from the dam.

Estimate say at least 40,000 families have already been displaced in the reservoir area of the Sardar Sarovar dam and thousands more are in the waiting but Roy said Government was turning a blind eye to what she said is humanitarian crisis.

"The NBA (Narmada Bachao Andolan) has detailed information about the fact that in its own report that Government is saying the people have not been re-settled but it does not seem to matter to anyone because once you are doing it, it does not matter, you just close your eyes and just go ahead and build it. It does not seem to matter what is happening to the people," Roy said.

Cleared by the Central Government in 1987, the project involves the building of some 3,200 small, medium-sized and large dams on the 1,300 km Narmada River and its tributaries to generate electricity and provide water to millions of people.

The dam will largely benefit Gujarat besides Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The multi-billion-rupee project is expected to be fully completed by 2025. (ANI)