VILLAGERS PROTEST WATER SHORTAGE;

Madikeri June 6, 2007

The villagers of Guddehosur and surrounding villages near Kushalnagar held protest yesterday and served an ultimatum of fifteen days to provide regular drinking water.

The protestors alleged that the three bore wells which exist are not being used and maintained by the Panchayath. One bore well has no water, while in another the water level is decreasing. The new one with full water is not being used to supply water, they said.

The enraged crowd held protest in front of the GP office and tried picketing. The ZP member V.P.Shashidar and other GP members intervened and promised to set right the problem. Shashidar assured that he will organize water supply by erecting a motor to pump water through Zilla Panchayath.

PLANTERS ASSOCIATION LAMBASTS STATEMENT;

The Codagu Planters Association has lambasted the statement by APMC to cover coffee under marketing act.

Calling a press conference here, president B.G.Muthanna and others condemned the move by APMC Madikeri to take coffee crop into its fold and said that any such move would be strongly protested.

C.Nanda Subbaih stated that the state government had also tried to bring Coffee under marketing act earlier and reversed the decision after listening to the pleas by planters. He cautioned the APMC to with draw its statement. Planters would be put to trouble and overburdened if coffee is given to their clutches, he said.

Former vice president of Coffee Board, Bose Mandanna alleged that the APMC has already begun to trouble coffee growers. They have started visiting Coffee Curing works and demanding marketing details, which is against the rights of coffee growers and curers, he said.

CPA vice president John Wilson and others were present in the press conference.