A temporary halt to protests
State govt decision a positive step, say protesters
Members of the Permanent Irrigation Struggle Committee thanked in a unique manner the staff members at the office of the Assistant Commissioner for letting them protest on the premises for an indefinite period of time.
“The protest is halted temporarily,” said Yaluvahalli Sonnegowda, a leader of the Struggle Committee.
Saplings
In addition, the protesters planted nine saplings in the place where they had put up their pandals so far.
“The area had become quite dirty after so many weeks of protest. We cleaned up the place on Wednesday, with the help of the City Municipal Council staff members.
Parking space was also made for vehicles coming to the office,” said Sonnegowda.
“For the first time in two months, since October 2 when the protest began, we were permitted to set up pandals on the office premises. Now that the chief minister too has promised to look into the matter seriously, we have decided to call off the dharna for the time being,” he added.
In Bagepalli
The 45-day protest was brought to a temporary halt with the Struggle Committee members as well as Chitravathi Bachao Samiti members staging a rally on the main road in town on Wednesday.
The protesters, including shopowners in town, walked all the way from HN Circle till the Committee protest platform.
B R Narasimha Reddy, leader of the Chitravathi Bachao Samiti, said the State government has responded positively to the demands of the protesters.
“Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai and other present and former legislators have decided in a meeting to consider the Paramashivaiah report, to provide irrigation facilities to the area. This is a victory of sorts for us,” he said and warned that the State government should implement a project soon.
N S Chalapathi, convenor of the Samiti, said political leaders, members of pro-Kannada and pro-Dalit organisations and various other people in the taluk had participated in the protest and expressed support. He agreed that the protest was being stalled in the background of the government decision regarding the irrigation project.
