Police in Madhya Pradesh ended a two-week protest against the Ken-Betwa river linking project on July 19 by clearing a site in Kupi village and detaining an activist and about 150 demonstrators.
Madhya Pradesh police removed protesters from the banks of the Barana river stream in Kupi village of Chhatarpur district on July 19. They took activist Amit Bhatnagar, who had been fasting for 14 days, to a government hospital and transported nearly 150 others back to their villages.
Bhatnagar ended his fast on July 23 after receiving assurances that people excluded from rehabilitation would be included. The ₹44,000 crore project, the first under the National Perspective Plan, involves building the Daudhan Dam and a canal to transfer water from the Ken to the Betwa river.
The Union government states that 7,193 families face displacement. Protesters demand that each adult receive the ₹12.5 lakh package individually and that the eligibility date be updated. They also oppose two state irrigation projects and allege irregularities in beneficiary selection.
The state government has added ₹300 crore to raise compensation for those projects to ₹12.5 lakh per beneficiary. Chhatarpur Collector Parth Jaiswal said a new survey added around 750 families. Concerns remain over tree felling in the Panna Tiger Reserve, where 12,404 trees have already been cut.
