Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network – Bantwal (EP)
Bantwal, May 17: The villagers in Panemangaluru Bolangadi municipal council limits expressed their wrath for not having received drinking water for the last one month and protested laying a siege to the Municipal council office on Tuesday morning, May 17.
Though there are several sources of water in the council limits, Bolangadi area residents have faced hardship longing for drinking water. The villagers said that they have orally requested the president, vice president, chief Officer and member of the municipal council several times but they have remained indifferent. “A bore well was dug in Bolangadi vicinity ten days ago where three inches water was found. But no pump was mounted for it. The President and the Engineer have said that there is scarcity of money to get the pump”, they said and sat on dharna.
“The Chief Officer has said that they have received Rs 23 lacs from the government for urgent relief of water scarcity in the past 45 days. Where did the money go?”, they questioned.
As the council Chief Officer was in Mangaluru attending a meeting, they were explaining their problem to the council engineer but he went out from the office. The protesters, who got angry with it, followed him and took him to task. They demanded that water be supplied to Bolangadi area before Friday by mounting the water pump. "If the council does not have money we will collect contributions from donors," they said and spread a towel in front of the office to collect contributions.
Panemangaluru Bolangadi residents before sitting on protests had telephoned council president Ramakrishna Alva and local member Jacintha to come to the venue to listen to their problems, but neither of them arrived. The anguished protesters insisted that they will not move from the place unless the President comes there. In the end, council Vice president Mohammed Nandarabettu assured that the pump will be mounted for the bore well before Thursday and water will be supplied by tankers till then.
The protesters gave up the protests warning that they will be protesting and laying a siege to the council office locking it if the pump is not mounted to the bore well and water provided before Saturday.
Local leaders Mohammed, Musthafa M H, Khasim Chandadi, Haider Bolangadi, Bashir Godel, Ansar, Dayananda, Adam, Devadasa, Honnamma,Sujatha, Avvamma, Kalyani and others were present.