Bhopal: CM agrees to meet Digvijaya over woes of project-hit people

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has agreed to meet senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on January 21 to discuss the plight of people affected by Tem and Suthalia irrigation projects, sources said on Wednesday, days after the latter threatened an agitation over the issue.

On Sunday, Singh had warned of staging a sit-in before Chouhan's official residence here if the CM failed to give time to him by January 20 to discuss the problems being faced by people of Bhopal, Rajgarh and Vidisha districts due to Tem and Suthalia irrigation projects.

Sources close to the Congress leader told PTI, "Finally the chief minister has given time on January 21 at 11 am for a meeting on the issue of project-affected persons." In a letter addressed to Chouhan four days ago, Singh had claimed the CM had not been giving him an appointment for the last one month, which he said, showed the "insensitive attitude towards the project-affected persons and farmers".

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister has said in the past he had written several letters highlighting the plight of people affected by the two dams, but the CM had not yet replied to any of them.

The Rajya Sabha MP has said claimed thousands of acres of land will be submerged, while many villages will partially or totally go underwater due to the Tem and Suthalia projects.

He has said very little compensation was being given to the affected people in Bhopal, Rajgarh, and Vidisha districts.

The Congress veteran has said he visited the affected villages recently and met their residents who were unhappy with the state government's compensation policy.