Key Points
Thousands of villagers in Bundelkhand protested against the Ken-Betwa River Project, which could displace over 7,000 families across 22 villages.
Protesters allege lack of fair compensation, incomplete surveys, and violations of forest and tribal rights.
While authorities have promised a fresh survey, tensions remain high as affected communities threaten to resume protests.
On the banks of the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh, instead of the normal hustle and bustle one might expect from a hotspot of economic and religious activities, the actual scenario is unnerving, to say the least. Hundreds of women and men are lying down on mock funeral pyres alongside the river bank in protest, their faces and bodies slathered with mud. Such are the scenes being seen on the bank of the Ken River, as thousands flock alongside the water body in protest for a fight for their livelihood. After protesting for 12 days straight, beginning from April 5th, 2026, the protestors paused the agitation on April 16th, 2026, for 10-days after receiving reassurances from the authorities that their concerns will be considered.
The protests are in resistance against the Ken-Betwa River Link Project that aims to transfer surplus water of the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh’s Betwa River, to aid the drought-prone Bundelkhand region. In addition to boosting irrigation, the project was publicized to have several other benefits, such as generation of hydropower and providing drinking water to lakhs of people.
The Ken-Betwa is an ambitious and monumental project in India’s water management history. However, the human cost of the developmental project is far too great, as the displaced people are being handed out inadequate monetary compensation and face rushed rehabilitation.
See also: Superstition or Stupidity? Devotees Pour 11,000 Litres Of Milk in Narmada River, Draws Flak
To deliver the supposed benefits, the Daudhan Dam has to be built on the Ken River— that will submerge 22 villages entirely leaving thousands upon thousands displaced from their ancestral lands.
From April 5 to April 16th, thousands of villagers sat in protest on the banks of the Ken river in Daudhan, Madhya Pradesh. Many of them belong to tribal communities— the Gond and Saur— and say their families have lived in these villages for generations. Their complaint is straightforward: they were told to leave without being properly surveyed, fairly compensated, or meaningfully consulted.
The affected had submitted memorandums to the authorities multiple times before they sat on protests. As their demands remained unaddressed, some protesters marched to Delhi on April 6th, 2026, while locals, mostly women, continued to hold down the fort at the construction-site. A series of symbolic protests were organized consecutively. A ‘Chita Andalon’ was organized first, wherein protestors laid down on mock funeral pyres, symbolizing the deaths of the residents' livelihood and of their lives, should the project be operational. Then came the ‘Akash Andolan’, wherein the protesters fasted. Finally the protesters descended into waters, the ‘Jal Andolan’ to register their protest. Some protestors descended into the water with mock nooses around their neck.
Their demands are simple: either they’ll achieve justice or will perish to death.
Protesters also allege that Gram Sabha consent, required under law before any land acquisition in tribal areas, was obtained through a rushed process that lacked transparency. They say they were not given a real chance to raise objections or participate in the proceedings.
The protest, coordinated by Amit Bhatnagar of the Jan Kisan Sangathan, was called off for 10 days on April 16, 2026 after the district administrations of Panna and Chhattarpur assured the protesters that their concerns would be looked into. The collector of Chhattarpur, Parth Jaiswal, confirmed that a fresh survey would be ordered.
The protesters claimed some people were left out of the survey. We have asked for another survey to cover these aspects. The other points they raised pertain to policy decisions at the government level.Parth Jaiswal, Collector, Chhattarpur
Bhatnagar has alleged that the administration has used coercive tactics against protesters, including sending house demolition notices to villagers who had not yet left.
The protests have also drawn people displaced by the Negua, Runjh, and Majhgaon irrigation projects of 2022, who say compensation from those projects was never fully paid out.
A significant part of the affected area falls within or near the Panna Tiger Reserve. Tribal residents say their rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, have not been recognised before displacement proceedings began, a legal requirement they say has been ignored.
The Daudhan Dam is expected to submerge around 98 sq. km of the Tiger Reserve, an area that is home to tigers, gharials, and vultures. Environmentalists have warned that felling over 2.3 million trees could trigger local climate changes that worsen droughts in the region, the very problem the project is meant to solve.
In April 2026, the Supreme Court of India said that environmental governance must be "eco-centric" and that the rights of forest-dwelling communities must be protected before large projects are allowed to proceed.
As of now, the situation in Panna and Chhattarpur remains tense. The administration has promised fresh surveys, but tribal leaders say they will resume protests if their demands are not addressed within the 10-day window. They are specifically asking for the halt of demolition notices and for the government to begin direct and meaningful discussion with those affected.
The Ken-Betwa project is a significant infrastructure project with real benefits for water-scarce regions. But the protests in Bundelkhand highlight the recurring challenge of ensuring that the people who bear the cost of such projects, the displaced, are treated fairly and in accordance with the law.
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