Around noon on October 6, residents of Banhari Kalan in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district gathered beneath an old banyan tree beside a water catchment area. After a brief meeting, men and women carried green and yellow flags and cardboard posters. Women entered the water, while men sloganeered on the shore, with some elderly women lying on symbolic pyres and others standing with nooses around their necks. Slogans such as “Nyaay do ya maar do” (Give us justice or kill us) and “Hum apna adhikar maangte, nahi kisi se bheekh maangte” (We demand our right, not alms) were shouted as the protest continued twice a day while villagers carried on with daily life.
The demonstration began on September 11 against the Majhgaon Medium Irrigation Project, which will displace 1,450 families in four villages of the Ajaygarh sub‑division. The project requires 1,552 hectares of land, of which 988 hectares are privately owned, and is estimated to cost ₹9,693 crore. Villagers, mainly tribals, demand fair compensation and rehabilitation, alleging irregularities and delays in the process that began in 2018. The protest is part of a broader movement that gained national attention in April 2026 when activists launched a water‑based sit‑in on the Barana river to protest several large projects, including the 44,000‑crore Ken‑Betwa River Link Project.
Grievances include the absence of promised payments, incorrect land valuations, and allegations that officials and middlemen accept bribes to deny eligibility. In September, a Lokayukta team arrested a land revenue officer for taking a ₹47,000 bribe. Police action on September 28 led to the arrest of activist Divya Ahirwar and others, with claims of baton‑charging and house searches. Bhatnagar, the movement’s leader, was placed on bail after a hunger strike and later admitted to a hospital under disputed circumstances.
Despite the arrests and police pressure, the protest continues. Bhatnagar is now in Rewa’s Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, while villagers in Banhari Kalan step out of the water and gather under the banyan tree, vowing to persist until full and fair compensation is received. The movement’s leaders and local Congress workers continue to document cases of exclusion and plan to file petitions with the Madhya Pradesh High Court if the administration fails to correct the alleged administrative mistakes.
