Protest against water shortage at Jeppinamogaru

The local residents, led by the CPM city unit, staged a protest outside the City Corporation office on Monday, urging the authorities to provide water to Jeppinamogaru.

The protesters also warned of picketing the office of the Mayor and the Commissioner if the demand was not fulfilled by Tuesday.

Addressing the protesters, the CPM city unit secretary Sunil Kumar Bajal said that areas in Jeppinamogaru like Tandolige, Tardolya, Guddepadpu and Nagabana have been facing such water shortage for a year now. In spite of the submission of several pleas to the concerned authorities and representatives, the plight of citizens has fallen on deaf ears, he added.

Line disconnected
“An overhead tank was constructed by the people of the locality and members of the local youth association and was used to store water from Thumbay line. The Corporation, however, has disconnected the line, which has resulted in acute water shortage in the area. The corporator and the mayor are least bothered about the difficulties of the people. Even as Sooterpete, which is represented by the mayor, there is no proper water supply to at least three houses,” complained Bajal, who criticised the mayor for being too busy with administration work to pay attention to the situation.

CPM district committee member and former corporator Jayanthi B Shetty said that the people are struggling to collect water and are going to distant places in search of wells.
“Also, the MCC officers and engineers have been playing a hoax on the people by providing water merely when the elected representatives visit the places and whenever they get a warning that the people will stage a protest, and not otherwise,” she said.

Permanent solution
Shetty also urged the mayor to provide a permanent solution to ensure residents of Jeppinamogaru get water.

Referring to the complaint three houses in the Sooterpete locality, Valencia, have not been receiving water for a long time now, Ancil, a resident of the area told the Deccan Herald correspondent that there had not been any problem of water till recently. “Now, however, we too are facing water scarcity,” he added.

Dinesh Anchan from Jeppinamogaru said that the people in the area are not privileged enough to construct huge tanks on their own. “Hence, they have been getting water from the overhead tank constructed by the people and the youth forum. The Corporation has been supplying water after 12 am, when the people cannot get up to collect water. The residents of the area are all workers, and leave their houses early in the morning and return not before evening,” he explained.

Local resident Chandrahas said that although Jeppinamogaru is situated at an altitude, there had been no problem of water shortage until the Corporation disconnected the Thumbay water line to the area.

CPM district committee member Yogish Jeppinamogaru and others were present at the protest.

Corporation executive engineer Gururaj Maralihalli met the protesters and accepted the memorandum from the protesters.