VISAKHAPATNAM: A large number of petitioners participated in the National Lok Adalat conducted in the region Saturday and settled their long pending disputes across the table. The Legal Services Authorities of the districts conducted and mediated the adalat. Disputes over power, water, telephone and other public utility services and also consumer and supplier disagreements were the main focus of the adalat.
Visakhapatnam
While inaugurating the adalat in Visakhapatnam, district sessions judge V Jayasurya said that the Lok Adalat was a better way to resolve all the long pending cases of the region. “481 cases valued at about Rs 5.71 crore have been cleared through the district legal services authority from June 15 to July 7,” Jayasurya explained. All the cases pending in the courts can be resolved quickly by the legal services authority, he added.
Visakhapatnam Bar Association president J Prithvi Raj said that setting up of Lok Adalat was one of the great decisions taken by Supreme Court so far. A large number of pending cases in courts have been solved in the Lok Adalat. However, he opined, “There is a need to create more awareness on the programme particularly in the rural and semi-urban areas.” Secretary, legal services authority and senior civil judge RV Nagasundar and judges U Satya Rao and N Narsinga Rao were present.
Vizianagaram
In Vizianagaram, district judge M Lakshminarayana said that the National Lok Adalat, conducted at Vizianagaram, Bobbili, Parvathipuram, Saluru, S.Kota, Gajapathinagaram, Cheepurupalli, Kothavalasa and Kurupam, disposed of 594 cases worth of Rs 62,12,491. Of them 238 cases relating to power and BSNL were primarily cleared in the adalat, the district judge added.
Srikakulam
In Srikakulam, the National Lok Adalat was conducted on the district court complex. On the occasion, district session judge and president of district legal services authority V Appa Rao said, “One-day-long National Lok Adalat resolved 202 cases. The legal services authority has been making efforts to clear maximum pending cases every year. Special training has been given to all the advocates dealing with National Lok Adalat.”
District legal services authority secretary Annapurna said that the Lok Adlat would be conducted on second Saturday of every month.