Karnataka - Others   

Farmers block road, demand water

Staff Correspondent

Protesters say only 30 cusecs of water has been released as against 90 cusecs

VOCIFEROUS PROTEST: Farmers' leaders arguing with officials during the agitation on Davangere-Chennagiri Road in Davangere on Tuesday.

DAVANGERE: A large number of farmers of the Bhadra Achacut resorted to a snap strike and rasta roko here on Tuesday in front of the Irrigation Department in protest against the release of scanty water into the distributary canal (9B).

The farmers said that as against the sanctioned 90 cusecs of water to be released into the distributary canal, only 30 cusecs of water had been released so far.

The farmers, led by the Davangere Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee president Mudegowdra Girish, blocked the Davangere-Chennagiri Road with tractors and staged a dharna in front of the Irrigation Department office.

They raised slogans against the officials of the department and demanded that some section officers be transferred. They said water should be let into the distributary canals on rotation at an interval of 10 days and noted that since almost 25 days, the officials had not released water into the distributary canal (9B). Section officers, Venkatesh Naika and Mahantesh Naika, who tried in vain to pacify the agitating farmers, told them that they would rectify the anomaly and release sufficient water.

However, the farmers alleged that the section officers had released more water into the other distributary canals leading to villages of Harpanahalli, at the instance of the Harpanahalli MLA Parameshwara Naika. They said they had no objection to releasing water to other distributary canals but the officials should release the stipulated quantity of water into the distirbutary canal (9B), which feeds water to many villages, including Bethur, Kadlebalu, Gudi Bevinamara, Boosanahalli, Devarahatti, Kalpanahalli and Chittanahalli.

The allotted 90 cusecs of water was expected to irrigate 2,800 acres of lands in these places. However, the farmers called off the strike following an assurance by senior officials of the department that they would ensure that the stipulated water was let into the distributary canal.

Withering of crops

Girish and M.D. Ravi, farmer leaders, said crops such as sugarcane, arecanut, banana, pepper, vanilla and paddy had withered because of lack of water.

Over 40 per cent of the crops had been damaged, they said and demanded that the department make good the losses of the farmers.

K.M. Kotreshappa and K.N. Somashekarappa, among others, led the farmers.

The police diverted traffic following the strike and as a result, vehicular movement was disrupted in many parts of the city.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

No change in MLAs' stand on tie-up with BJP: Kumaraswamy
Farmers block road, demand water
Final preparations on at Vindyagiri
Strategy to tackle stray elephants soon
6,000 Bangladeshis arrive in Assam every day: ABVP
KRRS, Puttanaiah faction to merge
Vanilla projects sanctioned
NHB sanctions vanilla projects
Girl wins competition

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu