Alagwadi village (Chitradurga Dist) (The Hindu): Residents block road with empty pots and raise slogans against government. Minister for Social Welfare and district in-charge H. Anjaneya found himself in an embarrassing situation here on Saturday when residents of Alagwadi village, which comes under his constituency (Holalkere), gheraoed him during his visit to the village to inaugurate work to drill new borewells under the Ganga Kalyan scheme.

The residents alleged that the authorities concerned and the elected representatives have not taken any steps to ensure proper supply of drinking water even after repeated appeals.

More than 50 residents, who gheraoed the Minister, said that they would allow the Minister to inaugurate the work only after he solves the drinking water problem. They also blocked the road with empty pots and raised slogans against the State government, elected representatives and the officers concerned.

Chandramma, a resident of the village, said that the villagers have been suffering from severe scarcity of water for the last several months and even after repeated appeals, none of the officers or elected representatives turned up.

“When the entire village is suffering from scarcity of water, how can a Minister come to inaugurate a government scheme which is meant for supplying water to backward communities only? Mr. Anjaneya should understand the fact that he became Minister with votes from all communities,” he added.

Some of the villagers also alleged that the Minister is visiting the village for the first time in the last four years and has not taken any steps to improve roads or provide any other basic amenities to the residents.

They demanded that immediate steps be taken to solve the drinking water problem in the village and also provide other facilities.

After the people refused to allow the Minister to drill borewells under the Ganga Kalyan scheme on private land, the Minister instructed the officers concerned to drill borewells on the gram panchayat premises so that every one in the village gets drinking water.

Speaking to the residents, the Minister appealed to them to extend co-operation to the government and the authorities concerned, as more than 160 taluks in the State were suffering from severe drought owing to scanty rainfall in the last four years. He also said that the Shanti Sagar Dam would soon receive water under the Upper Bhadra Project and the water problem would be solved permanently.