In Madhya Pradesh, over 250 farmers blocked the highway in Khargone district over deteriorating scarcity of water resources and also held a protest to demand water from the canal to be released into rivers and streams in the district which has been dry for several days. The demonstration had gone on for nearly 2 hours, which had caused a disruption in the traffic on Khandwa-Baroda Highway.
It was organized by farmers from 4 villages at the Lakhi Bilali region on the highway during morning hours. The most important demand being made by them was to release water from the Piplai Tank canal system in the surrounding riverbeds and streams for drinking water needs and to allow families and animals stock-up.
The protesters complained about the lack of rainfall in various water bodies, such as the streams Veda, Kunda and Kharak and the river, which have dried up. The crisis has made it difficult on a large scale in the villages to obtain drinking water for their human families and animals.
In the blockade, the movement of road traffic was completely suspended, with the formation of extended traffic queues on both sides of the highway. The protesting farmers held up the movement of commuters and transport companies to a great extent as the authorities tried to negotiate with them.
The farmers had asserted that they had several times raised the issue of water problems before the District officials but stated that no steps had been taken to solve the problem. They predicted that the situation could deteriorate even more in the coming weeks if immediate action isn’t taken.
Police authorities arrived at the protest area and talked with farmer representatives to reopen traffic. Eventually the blockade was lifted, after allegedly assurances were offered on consideration of their demands.
The incident underscores the ongoing issue of water scarcity in various regions of Madhya Pradesh, raising coastal concerns among farmers and local communities.