Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh): Resentment is brewing among the farmers of Chhatarpur district against the Ken-Betwa Link Project.
The farmers have already sent memorandums and staged sit-ins against the project. But their efforts fell through.
Their anger turned into a major protest on Tuesday. They took out a march under the banner of the Jai Kisan, a farmers' organisation. The procession began from the Satai area in Chhatarpur under the banner of the organisation.
The marchers alleged the administration had hardly followed the legal process to rehabilitate the farmers who have lands for the project.
The government also violated the environmental rules, the farmers alleged. Amit Bhatnagar, an office-bearer of the Jai Kisan, led the march which reached the collectorate at noon.
In the absence of the collector, sub-divisional magistrate Akhil Rathore received the memorandum. Hundreds of farmers from Surai, Kharyani, Dhodhan and other villages joined the march. They alleged that the government had not surveyed the villages before launching the project.
According to Bhatnagar, the Ken-Betwa Link Project has become a source of exploitation of the farmers and a symbol of fake Gram Sabhas. The farmers affected by the projects are yet to get compensation, he said.
