00:00A makeshift noose, symbolic pyres, emblematic crucifixions.
00:03It's not just Sonam Vang Chukho's on a hunger strike.
00:05These people are protesting as well against the Cane-Bethwa project.
00:08Give me 80 seconds and I'll break it down for you.
00:10In December 2024, Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of the Cane-Bethwa river linking project,
00:15which aims to build a network of tunnels and canals to connect the two rivers.
00:19So here is Cane and this is the Bethwa.
00:22Cane has surplus water.
00:23The plan is to transfer it to Bethwa, which passes through a drought-prone region.
00:27The project will reportedly submerge 10 villages.
00:30Including forest land and impact around 7,000 families.
00:33Locals say they weren't allowed to protest at the actual dam site.
00:36So they picked this one instead.
00:38Like those at Jantar Mantar, many here have been on a hunger strike for over 10 days.
00:42Protesters allege their houses were demolished without proper notice.
00:45Middlemen conned them out of the complete compensation.
00:47And they're demanding that the rehabilitation package be raised from Rs 12.5 lakh to 25 lakh.
00:52The administration however says that these protesters aren't actually the ones who are affected by the Cane-Bethwa project.
00:57And that the villagers are being misled by activists.
01:01Environmentalists have raised concerns too.
01:02Warning the project could damage wildlife and forest cover inside the protected Panna Taiga Reserve.
01:07But the government said that the project began only after environmental clearances.
01:11Law.
01:13Yes.
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