Rahul Gandhi backs tribal 'Satyagraha' against Ken-Betwa river-linking project

Congress Leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday expressed support for tribals staging “Satyagraha” against the Ken-Betwa river-linking project in Madhya Pradesh. In a video of his recent meeting with a group of tribals affected by the project, Gandhi promised to visit the site and exert pressure on the government.

"The problems, demands, struggles, and personal ordeals of the tribal brothers and sisters who are carrying out a satyagraha against the Ken-Betwa project -- their own account. For years, these residents of Bundelkhand have been enduring injustice and oppression solely for their rights; they deserve respect and support," Gandhi said in his post.

"In this fight of our tribal brothers and sisters, the Congress and I stand with them," Gandhi said.

In the video, a tribal representative can be heard saying that the project would affect 11,500 acres of land belonging to approximately 7,000 families would be lost to the project. Around 21 tribal dominated village would be affected, and approximately 4.6 million trees, as well as the Panna Tiger Reserve, will be affected.

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What is the Ken Betwa Link Project?

The ₹44,605 crore project is the first River Link project under the National Perspective Plan. It aims to divert 2,800 million cubic metres of water annually from the Ken River basin to the Betwa River basin via a 221-km link canal to alleviate water scarcity in the Bundelkhand region. It is supposed to provide irrigation facilities to 10.6 lakh hectares of farmland, unlocking multi-crop farming for 7 lakh families, drinking water to about 6.2 million people and generate hydropower.

However, the project faced resistance with massive Satyagrahas or the "Chita Andolan", over social displacement, compensation disputes, and cultural and ecological disruption. The protests against the project have been going on for more than four months. With a hunger strike by tribal activist Amit Bhatnagar that lasted for 18 consecutive days and a police crackdown on the permanent encampments.