COIMBATORE: Voters of Gobirasipuram village in Pogalur panchayat in Annur Taluk of Coimbatore district have threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha election, protesting against the exclusion of a pond from the Athikadavu-Avinashi Groundwater Recharge Project.
The villagers have erected banners announcing intention to boycott poll on April 19. They have mentioned on the flex banners kept at three places that political parties are not allowed for election canvassing.
Out of the 1,045 water bodies under the project, the 3.5 acres pond in Gobirasipuram village was earlier included in the project so as to get surplus water from River Bhavani during the rainy season. As per the water resource department, the project was all set for implementation from September 2023, said villagers. However, officials from the department claimed that they have excluded the pond from the project citing objection by a private land owner adjacent to the pond.
The department personnel removed solar panels, pipelines to the pond and the Outer Management System (OMC) following the objection to laying a pipeline through the private land for 100 meter for public purposes. The department excluded the pond from the scheme as negotiations by the villagers and the district administration with the land owner failed.
Official sources said the land owner refused even the offer of paying a one-time payment for laying the pipeline on his land.