Residents of Kadur village in Rattihalli taluk, Haveri district, Karnataka, tied a cow inside the Panchayat Development Officer’s room on Thursday to protest what they said was a drinking-water shortage that has continued for three to four years. The protest took place at the village panchayat office after residents demanded immediate action to restore regular water supply.
According to a report by Prajavani, villagers surrounded the Kadur Gram Panchayat office on Thursday morning and questioned the PDO and the secretary over the shortage. They tied the cow in front of the officials’ chairs and placed fodder near it as a form of protest. The residents said they had repeatedly submitted petitions seeking a solution but claimed that no effective action had followed.
The protestors said people were being forced to walk several kilometres every day to collect water. They alleged that women and children were carrying out much of the daily water collection, leaving access to water as a central burden for households in the village.
“ There has been a water problem for three to four years. We have submitted several requests to resolve it, but no solution has been provided. That is why we tied the cow inside the office,” villagers were quoted as saying by Prajavani. They also alleged that the PDO used abusive language when questioned by residents. The allegation could not be independently confirmed from the material available in the report.
Residents said they had begun the protest to press for water supply and would not remove the cow until the authorities provided water. The action brought the dispute directly into the local administrative office, highlighting the role of the gram panchayat in responding to basic service failures at village level.
The report said that the PDO and other officials left the office soon after the cow was tied inside. The PDO was not available for comment when Prajavani sought a response. The report did not provide details on the source of the village’s water supply, the reason for the disruption, the number of affected households, or any official timeline for restoring regular service.
The incident now leaves the local administration to clarify the immediate arrangements for drinking water in Kadur and respond to residents’ demand for a lasting solution. No statement from the panchayat or higher district authorities was included in the report.
