AGARTALA: Women residents of South Mahespur under Kathalia Block staged a road blockade on Wednesday morning, demanding restoration of drinking water supply that has remained disrupted for nearly a week following a burst pipeline.
Carrying pitchers as a mark of protest, the women blocked the South Mahespur bypass stretch of the Sonamura–Bilonia road from around 8:30 am, bringing traffic on the busy route to a complete halt.
According to sources, a section of South Mahespur Panchayat area under Kathalia Block has been without piped water supply for the past week after a pipeline burst in the locality. With no alternative arrangement made for water supply during this period, residents, particularly women, said they were left with no option but to take to the streets in protest.
The blockade led to long queues of vehicles building up on both sides of the road, ranging from long-distance buses and trucks to smaller vehicles, causing significant inconvenience to commuters and travellers on the busy Sonamura–Bilonia route.
At the time of filing this report around 10 am, the blockade was still underway, with no immediate resolution in sight. Notably, neither any leader of the ruling party nor any administrative official had arrived at the spot to address the protesters’ grievances, further fuelling resentment among the agitating women.
The prolonged absence of response from authorities led to mounting frustration among commuters stranded in the resultant traffic congestion, even as the protesters remained firm on their demand for immediate restoration of water supply.
Locals alleged that despite repeated complaints regarding the damaged pipeline, no steps had been taken by the concerned department to carry out repairs, forcing residents to resort to this form of protest to draw administrative attention to their long-pending demand.