Bharatpur, July 8 -- Thousands of farmers staged protests and blocked several state highways in Rajasthan's Karauli district on Tuesday after water released from the Panchana Dam failed to reach irrigation canals due to a technical snag, a day after the state government announced the resolution of a long-pending water dispute. The protest was led by farmers from around 35 Meena-dominated villages who have been demanding canal water from the Panchana project for nearly two decades. Demonstrators blocked the Hindaun City-Gangapur City, Karauli-Dholpur and Karauli-Sapotra roads, disrupting traffic for several hours. The state government had on Monday opened three gates of the Panchana Dam in the presence of Water Resources Minister Suresh Rawat to release water into the canal network after resolving a prolonged dispute over water distribution. However, officials said a technical fault in one of the dam gates prevented adequate water flow into the canal. Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Water Resources Department and technical experts from Bharatpur, Mathura and Bisalpur were deployed to rectify the problem. The fault was repaired and water was released into the canal again at around 5 am on Tuesday, officials said. Despite the restoration of water flow, farmers continued their protest, alleging repeated delays and demanding assurances of uninterrupted supply. Protesters also sought the resignation of Cabinet Minister Jawahar Singh Bedham, accusing him of failing to address the long-pending irrigation issue. Some protesters also alleged that both Jawahar Singh Bedham and Water Resources Minister Suresh Rawat had failed to fulfil commitments made to farmers regarding the project. Karauli superintendent of police Lokesh Sonwal said the gate had developed a technical problem after remaining unused for nearly 20 years. "The technical issue has been resolved and water has been released into the canal. Farmers are demanding that adequate water reaches their fields," Sonwal said, adding that police and public representatives, along with Agriculture Minister Kirori Lal Meena, reached the protest sites to persuade demonstrators to end the blockade. The agitating farmers also demanded that additional villages, including Katkad, Bajhera, Kotari, Kalakhana, Todpura, Palanpur, Garhi Kheda, Deeppura and Mothiyapura, be included under the irrigation project. Meanwhile, members of the Gurjar community gathered at the Devnarayan Temple in Shri Mahavirji town and demanded legal action against those allegedly posting abusive remarks against the community. They issued a 24-hour ultimatum to police to arrest the accused....