BELAGAVI
Farmers under the banner of Rayatha Sena Karnataka staged a dharna at the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) premises on Tuesday, to demand immediate steps for the implementation of the Mhadei water diversion project.
They have appealed to the civic body and elected representatives to formally support their demand.
The protesters accused the State and Central governments of delaying the project despite the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT) having allocated 3.9 TMC of water for drinking purposes to Hubballi-Dharwad in its 2018 order.
They expressed concern over the continued delay in taking the project forward and questioned the silence of the Municipal Corporation and local elected representatives.
Targeting the corporation for its alleged inaction, the farmers demanded that the HDMC pass an official resolution supporting the implementation of the Mhadei water diversion project. They said the elected representatives should either resign from their positions in solidarity with the farmers’ movement or actively support the struggle.
The protesters also demanded that the water-tax revenue collected by the corporation be handed over to farmers if the elected representatives failed to stand by their cause.
The farmers, who staged a sit-in outside the HDMC office, called for greater accountability from the civic body, stating that access to drinking water for the twin cities should receive priority.
Mayor Durgamma Bijawad and HDMC Commissioner Rudresh Ghali visited the protest venue and received a memorandum from the farmers.
The Mayor appealed to the protesters to withdraw their agitation and announced that a meeting involving elected representatives, farmers and officials would be convened on November 19 at Sawai Gandharva Auditorium in Hubballi to discuss the issue.
The farmers’ protest marked an escalation of their campaign, with the civic administration now being drawn into the demand for early implementation of the long-pending Mhadei project.
