Bhatkal: Residents of Ulman and Shashihitlu villages under the Bengre Gram Panchayat staged a protest on Tuesday evening, laying siege to the Panchayat office after their regular drinking water supply was abruptly blocked.

According to locals, a government-dug well was constructed in 1996 at Mavinatholu area on private land, from which nearly 150 households in Bengre, Ulman, and Shashihitlu have been receiving daily drinking water through pipelines. Although the Panchayat has carried out several repair works over the years, villagers alleged that the landowner has now suddenly stopped the flow of water, leaving the residents without drinking water. Angered by this, they demanded to know how anyone could block access to water from a government-constructed well and called on the authorities to take immediate action.

Panchayat President Pramila D’Costa, Vice President Govind Naik, PDO Uday Borker, and members Meghana Kamat and Shivaram Devadiga briefed the protestors on the steps being taken to resolve the issue. However, villagers refused to disperse, insisting they would not leave until water supply was restored. The protest saw participation from several prominent locals, including former TP member Vishnu Devadiga, as well as community members Das Devadiga, Yashwant Devadiga, Mohan Devadiga, Bhaskar Devadiga, Rajeshwari Devadiga, Mukta Devadiga, Savitri Devadiga, Lakshmi Devadiga, Yamuna Devadiga, Saraswati Devadiga, and Malati Devadiga.

Bhatkal Tahsildar Nagendra Kolashetti later visited the Panchayat office with officials, listened to the grievances, and also inspected the well site at Mavinatholu while holding talks with the landowner. Addressing the villagers, he assured that efforts would be made to resolve the problem within a week and appealed for calm. Murdeshwar Police Sub-Inspector Loknath Rathod also reached the spot with his staff to assess the situation.