People lay siege to central team's car at Gokak

People from villages in Gokak lay siege to the vehicle of a central team demanding compensation for the houses damaged during the previous monsoon on Tuesday.

They asked the central team to stop the eyewash and instead come to their aid.

The central team had come to inspect the losses to road infrastructure near Lolsur bridge on the outskirts of Gokak town. Efforts by the people to express their grievances before the central team did not yield results as the team had walked away and boarded the vehicle.

Irked by this, people led by Zilla Panchayat Member Govind Koppad, staged a sit-in protest before the vehicle of the central team requesting them to hear their grievances.

Deputy Commissioner M G Hiremath convinced the protesters that the central team members cannot talk to them and that he would look into their grievances after which they let the vehicle move.

Koppad alleged that people who lost their houses during the previous monsoon were yet to get compensation and officials were passing the buck on each other. Technical problems like software that could not upload data were being given and it's not acceptable.

People cannot come to the Deputy Commissioner's office all the time, hence they staged a protest to get attention for their grievances, he said.