Parbhani: The villagers of Dharmapuri staged a 'Chakka Jaam' agitation on the Parbhani–Jintur National Highway, demanding strict action against those accused of large-scale corruption in the Dharmapuri Phata to Dharmapuri road project.
The agitators alleged that the engineers of the Zilla Parishad (ZP) and contractors have embezzled funds amounting to ₹40 lakh for the Dharmapuri Phata to Dharmapuri road construction in the financial year 2022–23. Therefore, they demanded that strict action should be taken against the accused. Traffic on the road was blocked for about three hours. The agitators withdrew the protest only when ZP CEO Natisha Mathur gave an assurance to take action on the issue within eight days.
Funds of ₹40 lakh were released for the road between Dharmapuri Phata and Dharmapuri, but construction was never started. The local residents had submitted a memorandum to the ZP and the district administration on several occasions, but no action was taken. Hence, the villagers resorted to the 'Chakka Jaam' agitation on Monday. The agitators parked their bullock carts in the middle of the road and sat down, halting traffic from both sides. The police present at the scene tried to convince the agitators to withdraw their protest, but they were in no mood to listen. They demanded that strict action be taken against the corrupt officers and the contractor. Meanwhile, CEO Mathur visited the spot and assured the agitators that action would be taken against those responsible within eight days. The agitators then withdrew their protest, and traffic was regularised.
Santosh Deshmukh, Tanaji Kadam, Navnath Paithane, Govind Kadam, Balasaheb Deshmukh, Rishikesh Betkar, Gopal Kadam, Vaijnath Kadam, Nagnath Kadam, Suresh Kale, Ramrao Kadam, Ravi Dongare, Mangesh Tidke, Balasaheb Renge, Pandurang Tidke, and others participated in the agitation.
