Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)

Puttur, May 6: Seven families which were living at Nejikaru within Ilanthila gram panchayat near Uppinangady and living within the vicinity of River Netravati have locked their houses and shifted to other villages seeking to tide over the nagging problem of water shortage.

Nejikaru is located within a kilometre of Netravati river. Nejikaru is situated in an elevated land and people there are entirely dependent on tap water supplied by the gram panchayat. All the seven families have temporarily found rented houses in villages where water supply position is satisfactory.

Nejikaru falls under Ilanthila gram panchayat limits. The residents are coolies and daily wage earners. Every year they begin to face water problems immediately after rainy season comes to an end. As their repeated pleas to the gram panchayat to come to their rescue has failed to evoke positive response, the families migrated to other neighbouring villages. Because of shortage of water, five other families, which had begun to build houses at Nejikaru have abandoned their plans halfway through because they could not continue with the construction on account of water shortage.

After so many years, residents of this village have got sanction letters of the government under section 94 c for the land on which they have built their houses during this year. The affected people say that their ordeal has no solution in sight at least for the time being.