Water a trickle despite Madhya Pradesh BJP government’s vows, now diamonds are rust in dry Bundelkhand

Diamonds may be forever, but not in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district, whose famed mines are running dry.

Standing atop a mound of excavated earth in Sarkoha village, supervising four workers chipping away to reach the kimberlite, which may or may not contain diamond deposits, mine operator Vijendra Kumar, 39, says he is done. “We are not getting the same volume of diamonds and it is costly to run this operation… I will do something else,” Kumar says, worried it might involve moving out as “there are no jobs in Panna”.

Panna is one of the six Madhya Pradesh districts – apart from Datia, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Damoh and Sagar – all falling in the semi-arid, backward region of Bundelkhand, which vote in the second phase on April 26. Agriculture may be the backbone of Madhya Pradesh’s economy, but here it is a constant battle against uncertainty, with irrigation systems inadequate, fuelling migration.

The BJP government, in power in the state nearly uninterrupted for two decades, having won again in the 2023 polls, has undertaken dams and water conservation projects, with its showcase promise being the Rs 44,605-crore Ken-Betwa river interlinking project.

At a rally in Damoh recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “Modi is working with full honesty to solve Bundelkhand’s water problems”. State BJP president and Khajuraho sitting MP V D Sharma says the Ken-Betwa project will lead to “a green and economically resilient Bundelkhand”.

However, the plan that involves the transfer of water from the Ken river to Betwa – leading to “annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares” and “drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people”, as per the Union Jal Shakti Ministry – has remained on paper for the entirety of the BJP’s tenure in power. As