Members of the Karagada drinking water project struggle committee took out a jatha, urging the authorities to complete the development work of Belavadi Doddakere, on Friday.
The procession of farmers started at Chikkadevanuru and continued till Chikkamagaluru. The activists also warned of carrying out intense protests if the government did not take measures to fulfil their demands.
Convenor Ravish Basappa said that the government and the officials have failed to manage the Karagada project. “Although 80 per cent of the work has been completed, the rest 20 per cent has been marred by an inordinate delay, which has landed the farming community in trouble. Water is the right of farmers and they will avail it even if they need to protest for it. The jatha is a daring step by the farmers in order to draw the attention of the government towards their problems,” he explained.
Farmer leaders Gurushantappa, R R Mahesh, Vinayak, Renukaradhya, Tailor Chandrashekhar, Hemavathi and others were present during the procession. Around 500 farmers participated in the jatha.
An exchange of words took place between the farmers and the members of a political party, as the word ‘chela politicians’ was used at the beginning of the rally.