‘We don’t want to leave’: why Adivasis are resisting the Ken-Betwa river link

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Tribal families affected by the Ken-Betwa river-linking project stage protest on the Barana river, in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, in April 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI

Evening had fallen over Daudhan village in Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region. A soft beat of a dhol came from the distance as the dump trucks and heavy machines fell silent.

Inside his bakhri (mud house), Munni Lal sat chatting with his neighbours. About 500 m away, construction work on the Daudhan dam, across the Ken river, continued. The dam is the main part of the Ken-Betwa river-linking project.

rivers / Madhya Pradesh / Uttar Pradesh / tribals / water rights / civil rights

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