All posts tagged: KenBetwa

Protests over Ken-Betwa river link project resume in Madhya Pradesh

Protests over Ken-Betwa river link project resume in Madhya Pradesh

Adivasis affected by the Ken-Betwa link project’s compensation hold ‘Chita Andolan ‘ in Chhatarpur on Friday. (ANI Video Grab) Residents of several villages, mostly tribals, who are allegedly being impacted by the Ken-Betwa river linking project, have restarted their agitation in Chhatarpur district over their demands of better compensation and rehabilitation, after their talks with officials failed to reach a conclusion.  Several protestors, most of them women, have launched a symbolic protest by placing a hanging noose around their necks which has now reached its fifth day on the banks of the Barana River near Kupi village.  Earlier in April, protestors had demonstrated for days by lying on symbolic pyres over water, which had gained national attention. The protested had been suspended due to discussions being held with officials from Chhatarpur and Panna districts. The protestors have alleged an inadequate rehabilitation package, and several villagers have also been left out of the rehabilitation plan of the Ken-Betwa project and the Majhgaon and Runjh irrigation projects. They have demanded that their rehabilitation package be increased from …

Ken-Betwa project: Bringing rivers closer

Ken-Betwa project: Bringing rivers closer

On December 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Madhya Pradesh’s Khajuraho to lay the foundation stone for various development projects. Among them was the ambitious Ken-Betwa river linking project that plans to transfer excess water from the Ken river basin to the Betwa river basin in the Bundelkhand region that covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. As the Prime Minister flagged off work on the project, the Congress and a section of environmentalists raised concerns regarding its potential impact on environment, local ecology and wildlife as a large part of the project falls inside the Panna National Park and Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh. According to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, the Ken-Betwa link project (KBLP) is the first of 30 such link projects under a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for water resources development and interlinking of rivers with ‘surplus water’ to those with ‘deficit water’, formulated in 1980 by the Ministry (then Union Ministry of Irrigation) and the Central Water Commission. The NPP is divided into two components — Himalayan …

PM Modi lays foundation stone of Ken-Betwa river project

PM Modi lays foundation stone of Ken-Betwa river project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of the Ken-Betwa river linking project in Madhya Pradesh. Speaking at the program at Khajuraho, Modi said that in the 21st century, only the nations with adequate and well-managed water resources can advance. “The major challenge of the 21st century is water security. In the 21st century only those countries who have adequate water resources with proper management will move forward,” he said. The PM on this occasion also inaugurated the Omkareshwar Floating Solar Project in Khandwa district of the state virtually, and laid the foundation stone of the Daudhan Irrigation Project, part of the river-linking project. Union Water Resources Minister C R Patil and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav handed over two kalash (urns) containing water from Betwa and Ken rivers, respectively, to Modi, who poured it over a model of the project to launch the river linking work. The Ken-Betwa river linking will open new doors of prosperity and happiness in the Bundelkhand region, said the PM. The project will provide drinking …