Hubballi: The agitation for Mahadayi waters has turned violent with farmers pelting stone damaging several KSRTC buses in Tirlapur village of Navalgund taluk on Saturday night. The incident occurred when farmers were returning to their native place after staging a week-long dharna at Freedom Park in Bengaluru.
The protesters entered into verbal clashes with the bus conductor when they were resorted to ticketless travel to express their anger over negligence of the government in implementing the Kalasa Banduri project.
The farmers broke the window panes of four buses of Hubballi, Navalgund and Savadatti depots. Navalgund station police inspector Arunkumar Happali tried to bring normalcy and also diverted all buses to Navalgund KSRTC depot as a precautionary measure. Due to this, the bus service between Hubballi-Vijayapura through the village was suspended on Sunday, causing severe inconvenience to passengers.
Dharwad deputy commissioner Rajendra Cholan and senior police officials visited the place on Sunday. Navalgund KSRTC depot manager K.R. Naik said that the passes for ticketless travelling were issued to the agitators by the farmer organization.
He also said that the incident of stone pelting occurred as many farmers did not show their passes to the bus conductor while travelling.
Meanwhile, hundreds of women farmers staged a protest at Kittur Channamma circle here condemning police action against them at Freedom Park in Bengaluru. They expressed their anger by forming a human chain before returning to their villages in Ron, Nargund, Navalgund taluks.
Many farmers staged a unique protest by showing their thirst after eating jowar rotis on Hubballi-Solapur national highway in Navalgund town as their protest entered the 118th day. Hundreds of farmers of Nagashettikoppa, Bengeri and Keshwapur villages also staged a protest in the city by beating drums demanding that elected representatives exert pressure on the Prime Minister to intevene for early resolution of the water dispute.
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