Protests Over Ken-Betwa River Linking Project: The Hunger Strike India Barely Noticed

(The Quint is telling the full story of how climate change is reshaping lives in India. Help us do more. Become a member.)While Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike over the NEET paper leaks brought the politics of protest and fasting back into the national spotlight, another fast over displacement rather than constitutional safeguards has been unfolding almost unnoticed in Madhya Pradesh's Bundelkhand region. Amit Bhatnagar, who has led a six-year campaign on behalf of families affected by the Ken-Betwa river linking project, is continuing his hunger strike from a government hospital after his health deteriorated during a protest that was broken up by the police earlier this week.The silence has been striking. Although Congress leaders have periodically visited the protest site and extended support to the demonstrators, the agitation has failed to become part of the national conversation. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Madhya Pradesh government has maintained that all allegations by the protesters are "baseless", insisting that rehabilitation is being carried out in accordance with established procedures. Yet, for thousands of families living in the shadow of the Ken-Betwa river linking project, the issue is no longer about official assurances. It is about homes, forests, and futures that they believe are slipping away. Ken-Betwa to CJP Protests: What Remains of the Right to Dissent in India?The Ken-Betwa Link Project, India's first river interlinking project to move from blueprint to execution, is estimated to cost over Rs 44,000 crore. Conceived to transfer supposedly surplus waters—this is challenged by independent experts—from the Ken basin to the water-scarce Betwa basin, the project is expected to provide irrigation to more than 10 lakh hectares of land and drinking water to millions of people across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, as well as generate hydropower. But the project's scale has also made it one of India's most debated infrastructure ventures, with concerns ranging from the submergence of villages and displacement of thousands of people to the diversion of forest land and its impact on the Panna Tiger Reserve, one of the country's most significant tiger habitats. It is this human and ecological cost that has defined 44-year-old Bhatnagar's campaign.Bhatnagar, known simply as "Bhai Saab" among villagers spread across Chhatarpur and Panna districts, has been at the centre of this little-known movement for nearly six years. He has now become the most recognisable face of a campaign demanding that the human cost of the Ken-Betwa project receive as much attention as its engineering achievements.Today, Bhatnagar is in the ICU of a government hospital in Chhatarpur after his health deteriorated during a prolonged hunger strike. Even from the hospital, he says, his fast continues.His hospitalisation followed the dramatic end of the "Chita Andolan" (Pyre Protest) in Kupi village, where villagers had gathered for nearly 15 days in the middle of the Barana river, a tributary of the Ken. The symbolism was hard to ignore. Funeral pyres represented what protesters described as the death of villages destined to disappear beneath the waters of the Daudhan Dam. As Bhatnagar's health worsened after refusing food, the police allegedly conducted a midnight operation to remove the demonstrators, bringing the protest to an abrupt end. The agitation may have been dispersed, but the questions it raises remain unresolved, with the protesters maintaining: "We will return soon."According to the official narrative, the Ken-Betwa river linking project has been conceived to address chronic water scarcity in Bundelkhand. But, for thousands living in the project's submergence zone, development is measured differently.An estimated 25,000 people, or nearly 10,000 families, are expected to be affected by the Daudhan Dam. Entire villages face relocation. Agricultural fields cultivated over generations will disappear. Forest-dependent communities fear the loss of livelihoods that cannot be compensated merely through monetary payments.Speaking from his hospital bed, Bhatnagar alleges that many eligible families are still awaiting compensation, and some others who are not genuinely affected have received benefits. He further alleges that Gram Sabha proceedings were manipulated to facilitate land acquisition, calling the process "deeply flawed". According to him, these irregularities amount to a compensation scam worth nearly Rs 400 crore.The district administration, however, has rejected these allegations, describing them as "baseless", and maintaining that rehabilitation and compensation are proceeding in accordance with law.Partha Jaiswal, who's the District Collector, Chattarpur, told the media, "We have not received any such complaint. In case we receive one, we will hold investigations." The dispute reflects a larger challenge that has accompanied major infrastructure projects across India. Compensation is not merely about money. It is about establishing trust. Once affected communities begin questioning the fairness of surveys, beneficiary lists or village consultations, rehabilitation ceases to be an administrative exercise and becomes a crisis of legitimacy.The forests have emerged as another fault line. As many as 20,000 trees have already been felled. Bhatnagar also alleges that thousands of Khair trees, prized for producing catechu used in paan, have been felled and illegally diverted, claiming the loss runs into more than Rs 2,000 crore. The administration rejects these allegations as well.Whether these claims withstand investigation is a matter for the authorities, but the controversy has shifted attention to another aspect of the project—the ecological transformation of the Panna landscape.Environmentalists have long debated the implications of large-scale tree felling within and around the Panna Tiger Reserve. About two million trees are expected to be removed as the project progresses. For conservationists, this raises concerns about wildlife habitats and ecological continuity, especially at a time when global warming is a reality. For villagers, especially Gond tribal communities and other forest-dependent families, the issue is even more immediate. The forest is not simply a habitat for wildlife—it is an economic resource, a source of fuel, fodder, and income."We have also been talking about saving tigers and saving the Panna Tiger Reserve. But livelihood issues and compensation naturally receive more attention because they affect people every day."Amit BhatnagarKen-Betwa Interlinking Project: Rs 1,400 Crore, 2 Rivers and Massive CriticismTo the locals, Bhatnagar is less an activist than "Bhai Saab." Perhaps, this explains why he enjoys unusual credibility among the affected communities. His own journey offers few clues that he would become the face of one of central India's longest-running anti-displacement campaigns after Narmada Bachao Andolan led by Magsaysay awardee Medha Patkar. A computer science graduate, Bhatnagar says his first experience of activism came through an anti-ragging campaign during his student years in a Bhopal college. He later founded the Progressive Council for Bundelkhand to raise issues concerning one of India's most neglected regions. Social work eventually became his full-time commitment. He did not pursue his planned Master of Computer Applications degree. Following the Anna Hazare movement, he briefly joined the Aam Aadmi Party before returning entirely to grassroots activism.His understanding of displacement deepened through his association with the Narmada Bachao Andolan."I understand the pain of being uprooted," he says. "I experienced it while working with families displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Project."That memory continues to shape his politics.Earlier this year, following another protest, Bhatnagar was arrested and detained at Bijawar tehsil before being sent to jail. Thousands of project-affected villagers gathered demanding the release of "Bhai Saab". Police eventually resorted to lathi-charge and tear gas to disperse the crowd. The incident revealed not only the growing public support for the movement, but also the widening distance between the administration and the communities it seeks to rehabilitate.Sonam Wangchuk Hunger Strike: Why Did Govt Crack Down Now? What Happens Next?The story of Bhatnagar is, therefore, not simply the story of one activist. It is the story of a recurring dilemma in India's development journey.The country undoubtedly needs dams, irrigation projects, and water security, particularly in drought-prone regions like Bundelkhand. Few would dispute the importance of expanding irrigation and drinking water infrastructure. But equally important is ensuring that those who sacrifice their land and livelihoods are not reduced to mere statistics in project reports.Development succeeds not merely when canals carry water but when justice accompanies displacement.As Bhatnagar continues his fast from a hospital bed, that image acquires a symbolism that extends beyond one movement. Every great infrastructure project leaves behind two narratives. One celebrates what is built. The other remembers what was lost to build it.The Ken-Betwa project will eventually be judged by both.(Deshdeep Saxena is a senior journalist, formerly with the Times of India.This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)

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From Hospital Bed, a Hunger Strike Keeps Protest Against Ken-Betwa Project Alive

In a midnight operation, activist Amit Bhatnagar was removed, bringing the protest to an abrupt end.

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