When a group of women of Hemmadahalli, K.R. Pet taluk, in the district staged a snap protest outside the local gram panchayat (GP) office on Wednesday evening, they did not realise that the panchayat would react to their demand in a swift manner.
Their ‘empty pots’ protest, to highlight the plight of womenfolk as well as the lethargic attitude of the GP over addressing their woes, has yielded positive results as the zilla panchayat has decided to drill a borewell in the village.
Some parts of Hemmadahalli, a tiny village have been dealing with acute water crisis for the past three weeks. Women have had to walk for at least 1 km to nearby farmlands to fetch water from irrigation pumpsets.
Seeing no end in sight to their woes, a group of women staged a snap protest on Wednesday evening. They also threatened to lock the panchayat officials inside the office.
“Most of us cannot take a bath daily,” one villager said. According to her, they used to visit farmlands to fetch water only after evening hours, owing to the summer heat and this had led to in frequent quarrels in some houses.
“We have decided to drill a borewell in the village on Friday,” Siddaraju, Panchayat Development Officer, told The Hindu.
The protest resulted in Tahsildar K. Ratna, Taluk Panchayat Executive Officer Ramachandra and others visiting the village.
