MP: Hunger Strike Against Ken-Betwa, other Irrigation Projects Enters 15th Day

An indefinite hunger strike against the Ken-Betwa Link Project and other irrigation schemes in Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region entered its 15th day on Saturday, with protesters alleging inadequate rehabilitation and displacement-related grievances.

The protest, mainly by tribal women, is being held on the banks of the Barana river near Kupi village in Chhatarpur district. Protesters have also launched 'jal satyagraha', 'chita (funeral pyre) satyagraha' and, since the eighth day of the agitation, a symbolic 'faansi satyagraha'.

The agitation is being led by Amit Bhatnagar, who has been on an indefinite fast for the past 11 days. Protesters alleged that only one formal medical examination of Bhatnagar had been conducted during that period.

The Ken-Betwa Link Project, the country's first river interlinking project under the National Perspective Plan, seeks to transfer surplus water from the Ken river to the Betwa river to provide irrigation and drinking water in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The project has, however, drawn opposition from sections of project-affected families and environmental groups over issues relating to displacement, rehabilitation and its impact on forests and wildlife, including parts of the Panna Tiger Reserve.

The current agitation also involves families affected by the Runjh and Majhgaon irrigation projects, who claim that rehabilitation measures promised by the authorities have not been fully implemented.

According to the Chhatarpur district administration, the protesters comprise 176 people affected by the Runjh and Majhgaon irrigation projects in neighbouring Panna district and are not linked to any displacement or compensation process in Chhatarpur district.

In a statement, the administration urged the affected families to return to Panna and approach the district authorities there to avail rehabilitation benefits.

It said the state government had sanctioned an additional Rs 202.50 crore for rehabilitation and resettlement and enhanced rehabilitation assistance from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 12.50 lakh per affected family.

The administration said the additional allocation, the first of its kind for the project, would facilitate timely rehabilitation of eligible beneficiaries.

It said arrangements for drinking water, food, healthcare and other essential facilities had been made at the protest site on humanitarian grounds on the instructions of Collector Parth Jaiswal. Medical staff and medicines had also been deployed at a nearby health centre, while local authorities were monitoring the arrangements.

The administration said elected representatives, revenue and police officials, sarpanchs (village heads) and other local representatives were persuading the affected families to return to Panna and complete the rehabilitation process.

It claimed some people were spreading misinformation about the project and appealed to the public not to believe rumours.

The administration maintained that the Ken-Betwa Link Project is of national importance and will boost irrigation, drinking water supply, and overall development in the Bundelkhand region.

The demonstrators, however, alleged that assurances given by the administration in April had not been fulfilled.

Bhatnagar claimed that people affected by the Ken-Betwa Link Project, as well as the Majhgaon and Runjh irrigation projects, had been denied justice.

He alleged that displaced families had lost their land, forests, water resources, livelihoods and cultural identity, while some had been subjected to false criminal cases, illegal eviction, disconnection of electricity supply and demolition of schools.

He demanded that the administration stop intimidating villagers and publicly display the list of project-affected families in every village.

Bijawar Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vijay Dwivedi, who visited the protest site on Friday, said the administration learned of the agitation through media reports as the protesters had neither submitted prior information nor a formal memorandum.

He said officials had interacted with the protesters and assessed their pending demands.

Dwivedi said grievances of people from Panna district would be addressed by the local administration, while issues concerning Chhatarpur residents would be resolved by the Chhatarpur administration.

He appealed to the protesters to return home, especially in view of the monsoon, and rejected allegations that benefits had been extended selectively, saying action would be taken if specific instances were brought to the administration's notice.