the story So Far: less than 24 hours later Delhi Police forcibly removes activist Sonam Wangchuk from her protest site at Jantar Mantar But 21st day of his indefinite hunger strikeThe Madhya Pradesh Police ended another protest about 650 kilometers away from the national capital. On Sunday morning (July 19, 2026), MP Police personnel reached the banks of the Barana river stream in Kupi village in Chhatarpur district and cleared a protest site where people from hundreds of villages, mostly tribals, had gathered. protest for two weeks Against the central government’s ₹44,000 crore Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), India’s first river interlinking project, and two irrigation projects of the Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Police also took away local activist Amit BhatnagarThe founder of Jai Kisan Organisation, who was on an indefinite hunger strike for 14 days, was admitted to a government hospital, while around 150 protesters, most of whom were from neighboring Panna district, were taken in buses and dropped off at their villages.
Videos from the scene showed a group of protesters standing in the middle of the river and holding each other amid heavy water flow, women protesters being escorted away from the bank by police, and a group of personnel carrying Mr Bhatnagar into an ambulance.
Scenes from the demonstration drew national attention on social media, where men and women could be seen with nooses around their necks, while some could be seen lying on a symbolic pyre underwater. They shouted ‘give justice or kill (Either give us justice or kill us)’.
The unique protest, which was first organized in April, was resumed earlier this month after discussions and efforts by the government to convince the villagers failed.
The protesters are demanding better rehabilitation and compensation package for families facing displacement due to the dam, and are also alleging various irregularities in the selection of people eligible for compensation.
What is Ken-Betwa River Linking Project?
The Ken-Betwa River Linking Project is the first of 30 such link projects under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) for water resources development and linking of ‘surplus’ rivers with ‘deficit’ rivers, which was formulated in 1980 by the Ministry (erstwhile Union Irrigation Ministry) and the Central Water Commission.
The NPP is divided into two components – Himalayan River Development which proposes 14 links and Peninsular River Development which plans 16 links, as identified by the National Water Development Agency (NWDA).
The foundation stone of the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi At an event in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh on December 25, 2024 where he laid the foundation stone for the construction of Daudhan Dam.
The project plans to transfer declared surplus water to the Betwa River by constructing Daudhan Dam on the Ken River and using a 221 km long canal including a 2 km long tunnel. Apart from this, the project is also expected to generate 103 MW hydroelectric and 27 MW solar energy.
It aims to solve the water problem of the drought-prone Bundelkhand region by providing drinking water to about 4.4 million people in 12 districts of Madhya Pradesh and more than 20 lakh people in 10 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Spread between northern parts of Madhya Pradesh and southern Uttar Pradesh, the partly hilly region covers 13 districts of both the states and has been battling drought and water scarcity for a long time. This region is one of the most socio-economically backward regions of the country. Madhya Pradesh is also included in the plan for three more similar river interlinking projects.
Protest against Ken-Betwa river link project turns violent in MP; 3 cases registered
What are the major demands of the affected tribal families?
According to the central government, 7,193 families from 14 villages in Chhatarpur and eight villages in Panna district are facing displacement under the project.
However, the protest is not only against the Ken-Betwa project, but also includes at least five works of the Madhya Pradesh government such as the Mazgaon and Runj irrigation projects.
According to Divya Ahirwar of Jai Kisan Sangathan, the primary demand regarding the Ken-Betwa project is that each adult person be counted as a unit instead of a family for the ₹12.5 rehabilitation package, and the cut-off date for eligibility be shifted from February 16, 2024, to the present date.
As far as other projects are concerned, the protesters demand that the rehabilitation given to them should be on par with the Ken-Betwa project.
However, in both cases, they have also alleged serious irregularities in the survey and selection process and claimed that many people who have no connection with the villages or who left years ago have been included in the resettlement scheme, while many genuine residents have been left out.
Speaking from the hospital, Mr Bhatnagar claimed that the police action came on a day when he was planning to “reveal details of an alleged ₹400 crore corruption scheme” related to the inclusion of fake beneficiaries in the compensation process.
He has also alleged irregularities in the proceedings of Gram Sabhas of tribal villages to get approval for the Ken-Betwa project.
The 12-day April protests were suspended after assurances from the government, but were resumed after protesters alleged their demands were not being met.
Days after it was restarted on July 4, the state government approved increasing the amount of the rehabilitation package for the Mazagaon and Runj projects by about ₹300 crore, increasing the compensation from ₹5 lakh to ₹12.5 lakh.
Chhatarpur Collector Partha Jaiswal says that through a fresh survey, about 750 families have also been included in the rehabilitation plan of both the projects. Mr. Jaiswal has termed the remaining demands as “invalid” and said that the villagers are being “misled” by some people.
Speaking about the police action of Sunday (July 19, 2026), Divya Ahirwar of Jai Kisan organization alleged that many people suffered injuries and many women are yet to reach their homes.
He said, “As Amit ji is continuing his fast in the hospital, all the protesters observed ‘Chulha Band Andolan’ by not cooking anything in their homes on Monday (July 20, 2026) and fasted with him.”
The protesters have also accused authorities of illegally and forcibly evicting several families, cutting off electricity and filing false police cases against at least 250 people before they received full compensation.
While various protests over Ken-Betwa have been reported in the region since early 2025, a statement from the Union Jal Shakti Ministry in July 2025 said, “No protests have been observed as reported by the concerned project authority, district administration and forest department.”
What are the environmental concerns associated with the project?
When Bharatiya Janata Party While the Central and both state governments have claimed various benefits of the project, several environmental concerns have also been flagged as a result of this massive project, primarily over its potential impact on the local ecology and wildlife as a large portion of the project falls inside the Panna Tiger Reserve.
Apart from displacement, the primary concern revolves around the proposed cutting of trees. According to the Jal Shakti Ministry, around 17,101 trees were identified for felling to facilitate the execution of Daudhan Dam and associated infrastructure by July, 2025. Of these, 12,404 trees have been cut within the Panna Tiger Reserve Forest.
However, Ms Ahirwar claims that at least 46 lakh trees, a large number of which are inside the tiger reserve, are likely to be cut for the entire project.
Concerns have also been raised that the project could harm the tiger reintroduction program in the reserve, which has revived the cat’s population after being driven locally to extinction in 2009.
Apart from tigers, endangered species like vultures, mahseer fish and gharial are also feared to be affected in the Ken Gharial Sanctuary.
The central government has also not yet released hydrological data of the two basins, claiming that they are sensitive as they are subgroups of the international Ganga basin.
A Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court had also flagged various wildlife clearances for the project in a 2019 report, claiming that authorities had not considered its impact on the gharial sanctuary and vulture nesting sites. It also warned of serious impacts on the flora and fauna of the Ken River as well as the unique ecosystem of the area.
Various experts also believe that the data the government has relied upon to conclude that there is surplus water in the Ken River is outdated and have demanded the release of the latest data.
Between 2005 and 2008, the then Panna Collector Deepali Rastogi had written letters to various departments of the Central and State Government claiming that there was no surplus water in the Ken River.
