MANGALURU: Residents of a few villages in Bantwal taluk have decided to boycott the upcoming Gram Panchayat (GP) elections. They have put up banners, condemning the state government’s failure to provide them better road connectivity. The villagers in Nandavara Aramanehitlu of Sajipamunnur gram panchayat in Bantwal taluk are boycotting the upcoming Gram Panchayat elections on Saturday.
Avinash, a resident of the village, said that since the last four years, villagers have been asking the government to lay a concrete road as the present road is in a poor condition. “There are 30 families who suffer due to the bad road. We have appealed to the local MLA also but haven’t received a response,” he said.
When the Tahshildar, Panchayat Development Officer, others officers and Election Commission representatives learnt about the boycott plan of the villagers, they rushed to convince them to boycott the polls and removed the banner. As soon as the news of the boycott spread, Bantwal MLA Rajesh Naik also assured to visit the village and address the issue. However, the villagers did not budge and said they will not vote until their demand is fulfilled.
Residents in Adyalu in Idkidu village also put up a banner boycotting the elections and demanded better road connectivity which is a a long-pending demand. The panchayat officials took note of the this, rushed to the village and convinced to remove the banner and exercise their franchise.
Won’t vote till Savalgi declared a taluk: Villagers
Bagalkot: The villagers of Savalgi have decided to boycott the Gram Panchayat elections upset over the state government not declaring Savalagi village as a new taluk. The district election office said, “No nomination papers have been filed for any of the wards.” Speaking to TNIE, Subash P, former president of Savalagi Village Panchayat said, “Since the last six decades, we have been fighting with the state government over this. We will not only boycott GP elections but also the upcoming assembly and parliament elections till our demand is met,” Subash said. Revenue Minister R Ashok said, “The government will consider the geographical conditions and other factors before announcing the new taluk. However, as the government is reeling under difficulties it is difficult to announce a new taluk,” he added.
EC will act against those auctioning panchayat seats: KSE
Shivamogga: The RDPR department has requested the Election Commission to take action against those engaged in auctioning seats for Gram Panchayat elections, reported from various pockets of the state, RDPR Minister K S Eshwarappa said here on Monday. He told reporters that the government had agreed to nine of ten demands of the agitating KSRTC employees, and alleged that farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekhar is an “anti-social” who has misled about 1 lakh KSRTC employees.
“When the government is giving good governance, people like Kodihalli Chandrashekhar are trying to tarnish our image. There may be some others operating behind Kodialli,” he said. Eshwarappa said the central government had sanctioned `1,500 crore for the development of roads, and water and electricity in rural areas to develop villages. The RDPR ministry is planning to erect solar panels on gram panchayat buildings across the State to ensure power supply and to ensure that people get their land and other records without any power-related hiccups.