Hunger stir against Ken-Betwa Link Project enters 15th day
Protest against the Ken-Betwa Link Project in Bundelkhand focuses on rehabilitation and displacement grievances
- The hunger strike is taking place on the banks of the Barana river near Kupi village in Madhya Pradesh.
- The protesters are mainly tribal women who say rehabilitation has been inadequate.
- The protesters have used jal satyagraha, chita satyagraha and faansi satyagraha as symbolic forms of protest.
What happened
An indefinite hunger strike against the Ken-Betwa Link Project and other irrigation schemes in Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region has entered its 15th day. The protesters, mainly tribal women, say rehabilitation has been inadequate and displacement-related grievances remain unresolved.
The protest is taking place on the banks of the Barana river near Kupi village. The protesters have also used symbolic forms of protest, including jal satyagraha, chita satyagraha and faansi satyagraha.
UPSC can frame the Ken-Betwa Link Project as a governance and environmental trade-off: irrigation and water-security gains versus rehabilitation, displacement, and tribal livelihood concerns. The issue also fits federal implementation questions because large river-linking projects require coordination among the Union government, state government, and affected communities.
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