Residents of Gettavadi village near Thalavadi staged a road blockade on Thursday (August 13, 2026), demanding a permanent solution to the drinking water shortage in the area.More than 300 families in the village, which comes under Bynapuram panchayat, have been facing a shortage of drinking water for the past month. Water was earlier supplied from an overhead tank fed by a borewell. With the groundwater level declining amid the prevailing dry conditions, the supply has been disrupted. The panchayat administration has been supplying water through tankers intermittently. However, demanding a permanent solution, women residents, carrying empty pots, stopped a government bus and staged a road blockade.Traffic was affected following the protest. On being alerted, the Thalavadi police and panchayat officials reached the spot and held talks with the residents.The officials attributed the shortage to the fall in the groundwater table owing to the lack of rainfall. They assured the residents that new borewells would be sunk and additional pipes would be installed in the existing borewells to ensure a regular supply of drinking water. Following the assurance, the residents withdrew the protest. Published - August 13, 2026 03:37 pm IST