Shivamogga: Residents of Samatagaru and Kadasuru villages in Honnebailu, Hosanagara taluk, have thanked rural development and panchayat raj minister Eshwar B Khandre for intervening to resolve a long-pending drinking water crisis.Although pipelines and a large water tank were installed under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) four years ago, the project failed to supply water to villagers after contractors and officials abandoned it.After a written complaint from social activist Venkatesh of the village to the minister’s office, Khandre directed Shivamogga Jal Jeevan Mission engineering officials to inspect the site and address the issue within 24 hours.On Sept 12, Hosanagara taluk panchayat officers, the Humcha panchayat development officer (PDO) and geologists visited the village to identify borewell locations and revive the stalled project.Residents, including Suresh Bhat, P Rajendra, Sadananda, Avinash, Sadashiva, Girish Kothari, Narasimha Kothari and Ganapathi Bhat, welcomed the swift response, discussed their concerns with visiting officials and sought early completion of household water connections.Nagaraj T Anvekar, in-charge executive engineer, rural drinking water and sanitation department, told TOI that Jal Jeevan Mission infrastructure, including tanks, pipelines and tap connections, had been completed in the region, but water supply remained stalled because the first two borewells failed to yield a viable water source.He said the Varahi Multi-Village Scheme was being developed as a permanent solution to supply water to the entire Hosanagara taluk, while short-term relief depended on local groundwater sources.Following an inspection prompted by the minister’s office, a geologist identified a potential new borewell site near Nagarahalli.“We have instructed the engineers to seek task force approval and funding to drill this new well and connect it to the network, despite potential short-term delays due to upcoming festivals,” he stated.
