Bhatkal: Residents of Jogimane in Mundalli Gram Panchayat limits in the Taluk are at risk of seawater seeping into their homes and fields, as the Department of Small-Scale Irrigation is constructing footbridges here in an unscientific method.

Locals say that since the work of footbridge was started, seawater has started infiltrating the area during the high tide, which has also made the water from the wells here brackish. Now the situation has arisen that the people here have to bring drinking water from other remote areas. Despite repeated attention to these issues, neither the officers are paying attention nor the engineer is taking it seriously. Even the MLA is being misled by the engineer, which has forced the locals to live in a state of fear and anxiety. 

On the other hand, according to Vinod Naik, an engineer in the small-scale irrigation department, it is true that the residents of Jogimane are currently facing hardships. The small bridge will be opened to traffic next week. At that time, the barrier wall will be broken and the water collected there will be emptied. In this way the problem of the locals will be solved.