Villagers block road over water crisis

Cooch Behar: Facing a month-long drinking water crisis, residents of Aam Bari village staged a road blockade on Thursday morning, demanding an immediate resolution. The protest disrupted traffic on the state road connecting Aam Bari to Chaudhary Haat, with North Bengal Development minister Udayan Guha also getting caught in the blockade while en route to an event in Bamanhat.

Upon encountering the protest, the minister engaged in discussions with the villagers and immediately contacted Public Health Engineering department’s officials, instructing them to resolve the issue within an hour. He also directed the authorities to repair the damaged water taps in the area.

According to local sources, despite having tap connections, households in Aam Bari had not been receiving water for the past month, forcing residents to purchase drinking water. Following the minister’s intervention, the water supply was restored by Thursday evening.

Expressing relief, local residents Chotan Barman and Mandira Sharma said: “We had no choice but to block the road as we were struggling for drinking water.

Today, thanks to the minister’s intervention, the issue has been resolved. We hope such a situation does not arise again.” They also extended their gratitude to the minister for addressing

their grievances.