3 Solapur villages boycott polls over water scarcity

SOLAPUR: Over 2,500 voters from Guddewadi and Ankalgi villages on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border in Solapur constituency boycotted the election on Thursday. In another near-boycott, just a hundred of the 1,557 voters from Aalgi village voted.
All three villages from Akkalkot assembly constituency alleged that the government and leaders of all parties have ignored the water scarcity in their area.These villages are located on the bank of the Bhima river but are dry at present. Their crop, mainly sugar cane, is at risk.
In Amravati, 580 voters of Gopgavhan village in Bhatkuli tehsil boycotted the polls saying the government had ignored their demand for compensation against the land acquired.
Polling booths were deserted. "We could do little as they would not change their minds. We sat inside to complete our duty," said an official.
On April 5, representatives of the villages had submitted a memorandum to the Solapur administration, demanding the release of water from Ujani dam into the river to save their crop. "The officials assured us they would release water before voting day but till date they have not. As a mark of protest, we boycotted the polls today," Siddharam Bandgar, vice-chairman of the co-operative society of Guddewadi village, told TOI.
Many among those who boycotted belong to the Lingayat community, believed to be sympathetic to BJP in the area. But the current Akkalkot MLA is Siddaram Mhetre of Congress.
Some villagers blamed the mafia for extracting sand from the river illegally, and claimed babus and politicians support them. "They have dug into the riverbed and hence we do not get water in summer," said villager Panchling Birjadar.
Tehsildar Anjali Marudkar told TOI, "The committee formed at the district level could not release water since the model of code of conduct has been in force. Steps will be taken to address the farmers' issue in the next few days."