New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi always talks about the importance of mothers, but where is this when police commit such atrocities against adivasi women and mothers, protesters asked, alleging that the state police used force to disperse them from their protest site on the banks of the Majhgai dam in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district on Sunday (September 27).September 27 was the 16th day of the ongoing protests against the state’s lack of action in settling adequate compensation for infrastructure projects linked to the controversial Ken-Betwa river interlinking project.Used force, women harassedThe first set of protests were in April, followed by another in July, both in nearby Chhattarpur district where, like in Panna, families have been asked to relocate as their agricultural lands and homes will be affected by the construction of dams for the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project.The most recent set of protests have been at Majhgai dam in Panna district. More than 200 protesters have been agitating since September 12 here, undertaking chita, sooli and mitti (funeral pyre, gallows and soil) protests among others.“Despite our protests, the administration did not wake up. Instead, police issued notices last night to several protesters to frighten them but they are not scared. The police entered homes and beat people, both men and women, with lathis. Modiji keeps talking about maa (mother), but where is this when police commit such atrocities, especially against adivasi women,” social activist Amit Bhatnagar, who has been leading the struggle, asked.The police dispersed people from the protest site and also entered homes and verbally abused women, protesters have alleged.“The police even mocked women protesters by saying sleep with us instead of sleeping on a symbolic funeral pyre, we will make sure all your demands are fulfilled,” said Divya Ahirwar who is also coordinating the agitation.“Modi and Mohan’s, the BJP’s, their state police came… and the brutality on the night, and the way that they treated people, was a black spot on democracy,” Bhatnagar said.Also read: Nooses Around Necks, Laying On Pyres: Villagers Are Protesting in Unusual Ways in Madhya Pradesh. Here’s Why“Our mothers and sisters were pushed around,” said villager Sanjay Puri who was at the protest when the incident occurred. “Police came in uniform and civil dress, so how do we know if they are police at all?”According to Bhatnagar, the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 mandates that six months before relocation, compensations should be settled. But this has not been done, and none of the people affected by the Majhgai and Runj dams have got their full compensation, he said.“There is pain in every eye,” he said. “People do not know who to approach, the administration is not listening to them, corruption is everywhere.”Forests in a tiger reserve, the Panna Tiger Reserve, are being destroyed for the Ken-Betwa project when there is no benefit in doing so. Moreover, the PM himself assured them that Rs 12.5 lakh would be given as compensation for affected families, but this has not been done, he added.‘Agitation will now get stronger’After the police action on September 27, the agitation will grow stronger, said Bhatnagar.“All we did was protest peacefully. Instead our electricity lines were cut. Our constitutional rights denied. Our homes submerged. And yet we remained peaceful. Do not mistake our peace for weakness. Our agitation will pick up speed from today on, we are starting hunger strikes,” he said.“No stove will burn in the adivasis homes tonight. The kind of exploitation of adivasis that is being done by the BJP’s Mohan-Modi sarkar…our voices are being crushed. This cannot happen in a democracy. If I cannot speak my mind and protest peacefully in my country, then I do not want to live in it.”Bhatnagar also announced that he had begun an indefinite hunger strike starting September 28. In July, he had gone on a hunger strike in a linked protest, also pertaining to lack of compensation for people affected by the Ken-Betwa project, in nearby Chhattarpur district. On the 13th day, he was forcibly moved to the hospital by the police.