13 villages take ‘ghagar morcha’ at Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran office over water issues

Kolhapur: A ‘ghagar morcha' (water pot protest) was taken out by villagers from 13 villages to the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran office in the Tararani Chowk area of the city on Thursday noon. The protest was held against delays, poor execution, and continuous interruption in the piped water supply scheme for 13 villages in the Gandhinagar region. The protesters demanded the immediate completion of the approved Jaljeevan scheme.The morcha was led by former MLA Ruturaj Patil. Gram panchayat members, sarpanchs, and villagers from all 13 villages participated in large numbers, with a significant presence of women protesters. The march later turned into a public gathering outside the Jeevan Pradhikaran office. During discussions with a representative of the contractor firm Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd., angry villagers poured water on the company representative as a mark of protest.The water supply scheme, worth around Rs350 crore, was approved during the tenure of former MLA Ruturaj Patil in 2022–23 for 13 villages. The project was expected to be completed within 27 months. However, the work is still far from completion.Dr Shilpa Sandeep Hazare, one of the protesters, said, "In the scorching summer heat, women have to come on the streets. The question arises whether the administration cares about the welfare of the citizens or not. Why did they bring a situation to protest for water? Why was the plan not completed on time?"Placards with slogans such as "Politics even in water", "The corrupt policy of the Mahayuti govt", "Water is our right, our life and death," and "corrupt administration - corrupt contractor" were displayed during the protest.Former MLA Ruturaj Patil criticised the delay in the project, saying, "The state govt and Megha Engineering and Infrastructure are deliberately stalling the work. Is the contracting firm Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd. the son-in-law of the BJP govt? If the scheme is not completed within the deadline, we will stage a massive agitation. How many meetings have the current public representatives held with the administration for the water supply scheme of 13 villages? A total of 27 water tanks are to be constructed under the scheme; so far, only 6 tanks have been constructed. When will the work of the scheme be completed?"Responding to the allegations, Nitin Mane, a representative of the contracting firm, said, "51% of the work of the water supply scheme has been completed. The remaining work will be completed by June 2027. Planning has been done accordingly."During the heated exchange, company representative Nitin Mane and Jeevan Pradhikaran engineer Dattatray Patil were confronted with sharp questions from angry villagers. The company representatives later submitted a written assurance stating that the Jaljeevan scheme work would be completed by March 2027.