Karwar: In a bid to solve the problem of saline water being collected on a private land, villagers themselves blocked the gate of the village by using concrete at Kanasagiri under Chittakula Gram Panchayat limits in the Taluk of the District.
More than 50 people gathered in front of the gate where saline water from River Kali was drawn into the 111-acre land on Survey Number 21A of Chittakula Kanasagiri in the Taluk and raised slogans.
The villagers then brought a concrete mixer machine led by prominent Gajendra Naik and closed the gate. The land belonged to Vivek Venkataraya Nadkarni. There was no problem with stopping water then. However, now the cultivation of salt had been stopped for seven to eight years. Hence, during the tide, three to four feet of water was drawn in through the gate. As a result, the wells of the 152 houses around the farm were salting up. Not only that, but the salt water was also entering the adjoining fields.
Thu the villagers complained that this was causing a shortage of drinking water and hence the villagers took the action themselves.
