Neither water nor land

In Madhya Pradesh’s Kupi village, Deepak Yadav, 29, points to an ordinary wall that his home shares with his neighbour Basant Lal Gupta, 46. Revenue officials surveyed his neighbour’s home for acquisition for the ambitious Ken-Betwa River linking project but did not serve Deepak Yadav an acquisition notice. “Please help me understand, if my neighbour’s home and this common wall is accounted for inside the submergence zone of the dam, how will my home not be affected?” asks Yadav. Villagers fear that India’s first river linking project meant to end the water and economic woes of the region could exacerbate their livelihood struggles.

Read the full story