In an embarrassing incident for officials of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and Koppa taluk panchayat, local residents expressed their frustration by distributing playing cards at the Koppa office, protesting the alleged failure to provide water to households even after years of project implementation.
Protest by Farmers' Union
Naveen Karuvane, the Sringeri assembly constituency unit chief of the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha, led the protest. He handed out playing cards to officials, sarcastically urging them to invite their higher-ups to join in and pass the time, highlighting the ineffective implementation of the JJM. According to Karuvane, officials had failed to execute the project effectively and were doing nothing to resolve the water crisis.
Allegations of Negligence
Karuvane stated that the lack of commitment from officials had led to the failure of the project, which aimed to provide tap water to every household. Many villages in Koppa taluk were facing severe drinking water shortages, but authorities had neglected to expedite the work. He noted that while water was supplied through tankers last year, several villages now had no supply at all, and the situation was similar across the district.
Technical and Planning Failures
Karuvane pointed out that although work had been completed in many places and overhead tanks contained water, supply to households had not begun. He alleged that some connections failed before commissioning, several taps were damaged, and water meters were defunct. In many cases, works were undertaken without identifying water sources first—pipelines were laid and tanks constructed before digging borewells, which later failed to yield water. He blamed this on irresponsible planning.
Resident's Experience
A resident named Revanna shared that his house received a connection in 2025, but water was never released, except during a trial run. He expressed disappointment over the lack of progress despite the connection being installed.
Official Response
An official from the department claimed that proposals had been forwarded to higher authorities but were still pending approval. The official added that households would receive water under the JJM once the works were cleared by the higher-ups.
