MP: Two Days After Eviction, Villagers Begin Chullahbandh Stir in Batches

 Bhopal: Two days after they were evicted from the protest site in Kupi village in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district, womenfolk in around ten villages, falling under the submergence zone of the proposed Daudhan dam project- part of the Ken-Betwa Link Project- on Wednesday launched ‘Chullahband’ (shun kitchen) stir in protest against the alleged flawed compensation surveys done in the affected areas.

The women in these villages have started the hunger protest in batches of 20 everyday by shunning cooking in their houses, one of the stir leaders Pawan Patel said.

However, elderly persons, children and the sick have been kept out of the hunger stir.

The protesters alleged irregularities in the surveys in the affected areas, depriving many villagers of rehabilitation and resettlement benefits.

Officials however said that around 90 percent of families facing displacement due to the project have been rehabilitated and resettled.

But, complications in rehabilitation and resettlement of some villagers have developed due to lack of proper documents to establish that they belong to the villages.

Efforts are on to ensure that all eligible families get suitably rehabilitated, sources said and added that ‘We are ready to do surveys and resurveys for this’.

These villagers had launched ‘Chita’ (pyre) stir on July three on the bank of Ken.

The local administration evicted them from the protest site citing their deteriorating health condition on July 20.

Activist Amit Bhatnagar who is spearheading the stir had launched an indefinite hunger stir in support of the cause of the villagers.

He was forcibly shifted to the hospital on July 20 when his condition worsened.

The Rs 44, 605 crore Ken-Betwa Link Project, India’s first inter-river basin linking project, proposed evacuation of 2,000 families in ten villages, failing under the submergence zone of the proposed Daudhan dam.

The villagers facing displacement due to the project have however contested the compensation surveys, eligibility lists and the terms of their evacuation.

They are needed to establish their residential credentials through Aadhaar cards, school certificates, revenue records and decades-old family registers.

The Ken-Betwa Link Project which proposes to bring Ken water to the Betwa basin is going to benefit nine districts in Madhya Pradesh, four of which are falling under the parched region of Bundelkhand, and four districts in Uttar Pradesh.

The multipurpose project proposes to irrigate 9.04 lakh hectares in these districts after its completion besides generating 103 hydro power and 27 solar power and providing 194 million cubic meters of drinking water.

The proposed two km-long Daudhan dam, to be built in the Madhya Pradesh side over Ken, will directly submerge about 2,171 hectares.

The wider submergence area is pegged at an additional 9,000 hectares.