As the municipalities are undertaking various development projects in their jurisdictions, a strange incident has come to light in Amreli. Municipality has started work to lay a pipeline for drinking water in the city of Rajula. However, farmers of the place did not support this and protested the same.
Apparently, the municipality was working to install a new pipeline in the Dhatarwadi Dam 1, as the pipeline present in it had got old and dilapidated. But the farmers, who had gathered there in large numbers, protested this. Farmers of around 13 villages had gathered on the spot. Some of them even climbed on the JCB. This prompted the police to intervene, who detained the farmers.
Dhatarwadi Dam 1 is located near the Dhareshwar village in Rajula. As per the received information, the farmers were not in the support of the municipality’s action of installing a new pipeline in the dam. They expressed their disagreement by protesting in different ways.
Farmers sang the Ramdhun on the roads and raised slogans of “Jay Jawan, Jay Kisan”. Local farmers reached the spot in a unique way by lying down on the road and doing ‘dandvati’. Some of them even climbed and got up on the JCB in order to stop the work. Due to such scenes, police reached the spot to control the situation.
The protesting farmers were detained and arrested by the police, who took them to the Savarkundla police station. The farmers alleged that in the name of installing pipeline in Rajula, water will be taken to private companies. They further expressed that they do not have any issues if the new pipeline is of the same size as that of the old one. The farmers also demanded to install a fuse gate at the Dhatarwadi dam, along with a meter for the water being transported to Rajula.
On the other hand, the farmers at the Savarkundla police station have refused to have food and water until the installation work is stopped, threatening to go on hunger strike.