Water woes: Sarpanch protests, the beard way

Kulwinder Sandhu

Tribune News Service

Moga, May 19

The sarpanch of Bahona village in Moga district, Harbhajan Singh, demanded the restoration of water supply to his village by trimming his beard and hanging the hair on the door of the District Magistrate’s office today.

Residents of the village have been facing an acute shortage of potable water supply for a couple of months. The power connection to the village’s common water pump was snapped by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) a few weeks back as the panchayat had not paid pending bills amounting to Rs 16 lakh.

The Dalit sarpanch, who himself supplied water to villagers on a “rehri” for many weeks from his personal water pump, finally decided to cut off his beard to press his demand.

Yesterday, the sarpanch had protested at the mini-secretariat in Moga by covering his face with a black cloth. He did not drink water the whole day in protest.

District Magistrate Dilraj Singh had reportedly assured him that the power connection would be restored, but the Sarpanch said it hadn’t been done so till Friday morning.

Harbhajan alleged that he wanted to meet the DM on Friday before taking the extreme step, but the officer allegedly did not meet him and abruptly left his office without listening to their problems. “The District Magistrate has forced me to cut off my beard against Sikh traditions and religious customs,” he alleged.

Meanwhile, the DM claimed that the power supply of the pump was restored by the PSPCL authorities despite the pending Rs 16-lakh bills. He said villagers had assured the local power authorities that they would soon collect the money and clear the dues.