'Will Pressure Govt,' Rahul Gandhi Extends Support To Tribals Staging 'Satyagraha' Against Ken-Betwa Project— VIDEO

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Extending support to tribals staging a ‘satyagraha’ against the Ken-Betwa river-linking project, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he stands with them in their struggle and will visit the site to put pressure on the government.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha shared a video on X of his recent meeting with a group of tribals affected by the project.

“The problems, demands, struggles and personal ordeals of the tribal brothers and sisters who are carrying out a satyagraha against the Ken-Betwa project - their own accounts. For years, these residents of Bundelkhand have been facing injustice and oppression while fighting for their rights. They deserve respect and support,” Gandhi said in his post.

“In this fight of our tribal brothers and sisters, the Congress and I stand with them,” he added.

In the video, a tribal representative claimed that the project would affect 21 tribal-dominated villages and impact around 4.6 million (46 lakh) trees, along with the Panna Tiger Reserve.

The representative further claimed that around 11,500 acres of land belonging to nearly 7,000 families would be acquired for the project.

They urged Rahul Gandhi to raise the issue of alleged harassment by the administration in Parliament and join their movement.

In the video, Gandhi assured them that he would visit the site and put pressure on the government.

The ₹44,605-crore Ken-Betwa Link Project is the country’s first river-linking project under the National Perspective Plan.

It aims to irrigate 1.062 million hectares of land, provide drinking water to around 6.2 million people and generate hydropower in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region spread across Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.