Farmers block national highway in Khargone over water shortage

Times News NetworkKhargone: More than 200 farmers blocked Khandwa-Vadodara national highway near Bilali village under Gogawan police station limits on Friday, demanding release of water from the Pipliya reservoir amid acute irrigation and drinking water shortage in the region.Protesters parked bullock carts and vehicles across the road, halting traffic and leaving passenger and commercial vehicles stranded for hours in the summer heat.Farmers said that delayed rainfall had dried up local water sources, including the Veda, Kunda and Kharak rivers, severely affecting irrigation and livestock in Bilali and neighbouring villages. They alleged that despite submitting memorandums over the past fortnight, district authorities had taken no action.Residents said that the near-complete drying up of the Veda river had hit villages including Sagur-Bhagur, Lalni-Temarni, Behrampur and Lakhi, and demanded water be released from nearby reservoirs into rivers and canals to secure drinking water supply and recharge groundwater.Narmada Valley Development Authority executive engineer LS Solanki, Naib Tehsildar Hemlata Chauhan, Gogawan police station in-charge Deepak Yadav and other officials reached the spot following reports of the protest.The blockade was lifted after about an hour following assurances that water would be released from the Piplai reservoir, after which traffic resumed on the highway.