It is the prime responsibility of the government department to protect farmers and encourage to take up farming
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YADGIR
Farmers and leaders of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene staged an overnight protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, demanding that the tanks at Malkappanahalli in Yadgir taluk and Baddepalli in Gurmatkal taluk be filled with water.
The protesters arrived with a tent and attempted to enter the DC office premises, declaring that they would continue the protest until the tanks were filled. Police stopped them at the entrance, following which the protesters sat in the scorching heat and raised slogans. As there was no immediate response to their demand, they continued their overnight agitation.
The farmers demanded that water be supplied to the tanks through a pipeline from the Sannathi Bridge-cum-Barrage across the Bhima River. They also sought water for at least 10 days to save standing crops. The protesters said they had submitted several representations seeking immediate filling of the two tanks, but alleged that the district administration and elected representatives had failed to respond. With the tanks remaining dry, groundwater levels had declined, leading to shortages of drinking water and water for livestock, they said.
According to the farmers, the Baddepalli tank was half full, based on which they had transplanted paddy on nearly 700 acres and applied fertilisers twice. However, they alleged that engineers of the Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited (KBJNL) had stopped releasing water into the tank about a week ago, leaving the standing crops to wither.
The protesters urged the authorities to immediately release water to save crops and provide relief to farmers facing drought conditions. They also appealed to officials to find a way to fill the tanks instead of citing inadequate rainfall or lack of water in the bridge-cum-barrage. Mahesh Gowda Subedar, Vijayakumar Mushtur, Mounesh Sagar, Rakesh Gowda Kapoor, Eshappa Hugar and Bhimaraya Kapoor were among those who participated in the protest.
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A KBJNL Engineer,
explained to the protesters that water is released into the tanks when there is sufficient flow in the river following rainfall. He said there were directions to give priority to drinking water requirements until July and, therefore, water could not be released for agricultural activities.
