ERODE: Traffic on the Iriyapuram–Thalavadi Road was disrupted for an hour on Friday morning as residents of Iriyapuram village in Erode district held a road blockade demanding regular supply of drinking water.According to police, around 50 residents took part in the protest at Iriyapuram bus stop. Several women reportedly sat on the road carrying empty pots, highlighting the prolonged shortage.More than 300 people live in Iriyapuram village. The residents alleged that drinking water had not been supplied to them regularly for the past few months despite repeated representations to the panchayat administration.The villagers said they had been depending on water from nearby agricultural fields, but those sources had started drying up. Residents said the shortage had become so acute in past few weeks.The residents withdrew the protest after police negotiated with them.Similar protests over drinking water shortages have been reported in the Thalavadi hills in recent weeks.
