Hundreds of tribal residents in Ajaygarh, India, are protesting an $87 billion government initiative to link approximately 30 rivers across the country. Demonstrators, including local farmers and women who have staged protests on mock funeral pyres, say the project has already caused rising waters to flood homes and temples in their villages. While the government maintains the project is necessary to provide irrigation and drinking water to drought-prone regions, protesters state that current compensation offers are insufficient to rebuild their lives.
The river-linking plan, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is currently in its first phase, which involves connecting the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa River in Uttar Pradesh at a projected cost of about $4.6 billion. As part of this phase, the government is constructing the 2-kilometer-long Daudhan Dam. The project aims to improve food security for tens of millions of farmers by redistributing water to the Bundelkhand region.
District administrator Usha Parmar stated that the government has paid compensation to more than 90% of affected residents. The offer was increased to at least 1.25 million Indian rupees ($13,000) per hectare, up from an initial 500,000 rupees. However, local residents like priest Dhaniram Bhatnagar say the payments only cover residential structures and do not account for lost livelihoods, such as income from local temples that have been submerged.
The environmental impact involves the inundation of 9,000 hectares (22,200 acres) of land. This includes a portion of the Panna Tiger Reserve, a site for India's tiger conservation efforts. Conservationists and hydrologists, such as Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, state that the scientific premise of a water surplus in the Ken basin has not been established. The project sets a precedent for approximately 29 additional river links that critics say could further disrupt ecosystems and uproot additional rural communities.
The government maintains that the environmental damage is "unavoidable" but can be mitigated through tree planting and wildlife conservation. A government statement from August 21 confirmed the project would provide hydropower and drinking water to address chronic scarcity. As of October 12, 2026, residents remain in the area despite rising waters, and the sources do not provide a specific deadline for the completion of the total 30-river network.