Bantwal: Residents of Sajipa-Munnur villages, on Thursday held a mass prayer at Mudelmutti Shri Nalkettaya temple to protect the interests of the farmers living near Thumbe vented dam.

Due to the construction of the new vented dam, acres of fertile agriculture land belonging to five villages in Bantwal will be submerged once the new dam gets functional. This has spell a pall of gloom in the region. Keeping this in mind, farmers and villagers joined hands and organised the mass prayer to save the agri land.

They said that though several pleas have been made to people’s representatives, officials and the government, no action has been taken.

“If seven mts of water is stored in the dam, Mudelmutti Nalkettaya temple will turn into a island. During Nemotsava, roads leading to the temple will get submerged and the devotees will have to depend on boats. Hence, we have approached court too. We expect that the long-pending demand be addressed immediately, said farmer leader Subramanya Bhat.