PERNEM
The Mopa Pidit Jan Sanghatana has announced a protest on May 1 to oppose the irrigation department's ongoing work to construct a pump house along the Bailpar River at Kasarvarne, Pernem.
The Irrigation Department is constructing two pump houses along the river at a cost of Rs 27 crore and while the department claims the work is legal, Kasarvarne sarpanch Ramesh Palienkar has insisted that a NOC has not been obtained from the panchayat.
The panchayat had sent a notice to the department to stop further work on the project, but the department did not pay heed to the notice.
The Sanghatana then filed a complaint at the Pernem police station, prompting PI Vikram Naik to visit the site where farmers had been protesting a few days ago. Following assurances from police, the protest was later withdrawn.
The Sanghatana has requested locals to support their protest on May 1.
According to locals, 20 Panchayats and one municipality in Pernem taluka depend on water supplied from the Chandel Water Treatment Project. At present, water from the Bailpar River is supplied to the Chandel Water Treatment Project.
Locals fear that people from Pernem taluka may face water scarcity if water from the Bailpar River is diverted to other projects in the taluka. Farmers, who have been demanding adequate water for their fields and cultivations, claim they could face an acute water shortage and have insisted that water should first be supplied to them and the excess water may then be supplied for other projects.
The Irrigation Department is constructing two pump houses along the river at a cost of Rs 27 crore and while the department claims the work is legal, Kasarvarne sarpanch Ramesh Palienkar has insisted that a NOC has not been obtained from the panchayat.
The panchayat had sent a notice to the department to stop further work on the project, but the department did not pay heed to the notice.
The Sanghatana then filed a complaint at the Pernem police station, prompting PI Vikram Naik to visit the site where farmers had been protesting a few days ago. Following assurances from police, the protest was later withdrawn.
The Sanghatana has requested locals to support their protest on May 1.
According to locals, 20 Panchayats and one municipality in Pernem taluka depend on water supplied from the Chandel Water Treatment Project. At present, water from the Bailpar River is supplied to the Chandel Water Treatment Project.
Locals fear that people from Pernem taluka may face water scarcity if water from the Bailpar River is diverted to other projects in the taluka. Farmers, who have been demanding adequate water for their fields and cultivations, claim they could face an acute water shortage and have insisted that water should first be supplied to them and the excess water may then be supplied for other projects.
