Farmers block highway demanding solution to Mahadayi water dispute

Blaming people's representatives for their failure in resolving the Mahadayi water sharing dispute, members of the Mahadayi Horata Samithi staged a 'rasta roko' (roadblock) for seven hours on the Hubbali-Vijayapura highway on Saturday.  

They blocked the road with tree branches and burnt tyres in protest. They also took out processions singing bhajans and shouting slogans against the government. They forced shops and stalls on the highway to shut down.  

School, college-going youngsters and office-goers were inconvenienced as traffic on the highway piled up. Many buses turned around from Naragund and returned to the place of their origin. Many others took alternative routes and reached Vijayapura hours later.