BJP workers in Karnataka’s Davanagere district called a bandh in Jagalur taluk on Monday after the state government excluded the region from its official list of drought-affected taluks. Protesters blocked vehicular movement, forced a shutdown of the local agricultural produce market, and kept buses off the roads while residents and students walked to their destinations. Demonstrators gathered at the market gates with placards and slogans, calling the exclusion an injustice to a chronically water-stressed region.
Former BJP legislator S V Ramachandrappa stated that Jagalur has faced drought for nearly seven decades without a major river or perennial water source. He noted that crops withered after early monsoon rains failed, and questioned why the administration used satellite assessments instead of sending officials for ground inspections. He also highlighted rising distress migration from Bilichodu hobli and Basavanakote due to collapsed local livelihoods.
Protesters plan to continue their sit-in as a satyagraha until the state government formally declares Jagalur drought-hit. The dispute adds to existing friction between the opposition BJP and the Congress government regarding how drought relief is calculated and distributed across the state’s talukas this season.