Mangaluru: Miffed with the loss to their property, the agrarian community of Vittalbettu has decided to stage a protest against the Mangaluru International Airport authorities soon.

The locals allege that excess rainwater from the airport premises, following the May 29 deluge, flowed down to residential areas and fields, resulting in damage to their properties.

The decision to stage a protest came in the backdrop of airport authorities refusing to make up for the losses as assured earlier.

Following heavy rain on May 29, water from the airport premises – located at a higher altitude –flowed down to the Kolambe Vittalbettu area, where a few villagers dwell, and are engaged in agriculture.

The water carried an enormous amount of silt, that allegedly got deposited on the farmland and damaged a motorable mud road. The locals said though they tried diverting the path of the water, they achieved little success, as the flow was intense, which also led to cracks on their houses. A well on which the villagers depend for p otable water got filled with silt.

A meeting comprising airport officials, the locals of Vittabettu, Mangaluru City North MLA Dr Bharath Y Shetty and district MP Nalin Kumar Kateel was convened in this connection at the Circuit House on Tuesday. During the meeting, the airport officials reportedly agreed to make up for the losses, by repairing the roads and cleaning the well.

However, the locals on Wednesday alleged that the airport officials withdrew the assurance. “After a visit to the affected area, the airport officials allegedly shrugged off their responsibility for the damage and loss caused, and held the villagers accountable for the losses,” according to Shivaram Kulal, a local agriculturist.

“During a meeting on Tuesday, they admitted that the water from the airport premises flowed into residential and agricultural areas. Today, they alleged that we are lying. Why would we think of taking on the powerful airport authorities if our property wasn’t damaged?” queried Shivaram.

“All the silt that you see here was deposited by the heavy flow of water from the airport premises,” said another local Vasu Kulal.

MLA Dr Shetty told that he will soon visit the spot along with the MP, and initiate necessary measures. “The airport pays Rs 25 lakh per annum towards tax to the local gram panchayat. Officials from the airport say they had previously apprised the district administration of the situation. However, according to them, the district administration did not respond in this regard. We will look the matter,” he said.