Activist ends 18-day hunger strike after government promises to address rehabilitation issues in Ken-Betwa project
Activist Amit Bhatnagar, who had been on a hunger strike for 18 days opposing the Ken-Betwa river linking project, ended his fast on Thursday (July 23, 2026) after the government assured that left-out people in the rehabilitation process would be included.
Bhatnagar broke his fast at the Chhatarpur district hospital by drinking coconut water, in the presence of his family and fellow protesters. He stated that the decision was influenced by several tribal women who had also stopped eating since July 19, when police forcibly took him to the hospital and dismantled the demonstration site on the banks of the Barana river in Kupi village, Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh.
“I am concluding my 18-day fast-unto-death today, having achieved the first success towards my objective. However, this struggle is far from over. From this day forward, I pledge to undertake a ‘Nyay Satyagraha’ (a struggle for justice). I will not rest until the very last eligible person affected by this project receives justice,” Bhatnagar said, adding that he decided on the request of his mother and women involved in the protest.
Bhatnagar, of the Jai Kisan Sangathan, had been leading a protest since July 4, where demonstrators from Chhatarpur and Panna districts tied nooses around their necks and lay on makeshift pyres in the river, symbolically protesting the ₹44,000-crore project of the Union Government. They also demanded improved compensation for people affected by at least five projects of the Madhya Pradesh Government.
In the early hours of July 19, Madhya Pradesh Police dismantled the protest site and admitted Bhatnagar to a hospital. Officials cited rising water levels in the Barana river due to heavy rains as the reason for the action.
Chhatarpur Collector Parth Jaiswal told The Hindu that the administration had been holding dialogues with Bhatnagar and other protesters and assured that their complaints would be addressed. “We were constantly speaking to them. Both the districts have assured them that we will form a team to address all their complaints and if any people have been left out will be added to the compensation process,” Jaiswal said.
Bhatnagar also said that representatives of the Jai Kisan Sangathan will be part of the administration’s team. “I will travel from village to village to lead this movement, cooperate with every positive step taken by the administration, and monitor the fulfillment of every promise. If the need arises, subsequent phases of the agitation will also be launched,” he said.
The dismantling of the protest site, which had drawn national attention, occurred a day after the Delhi Police removed activist Sonam Wangchuk from his indefinite hunger strike at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, where he had been protesting over paper leaks.
