When the proposed Puthur grama panchayat in Kollam district comes into existence soon, many who now claim to be living in the present Puthur village will not be living in Puthur anymore.
This has caused resentment and people living in Puthur have already started lodging their objections not only to the appropriate authority but even to the Chief Minister’s office.
The new grama panchayat was notified by the State government on January 25 this year and the last date for filing of objections is February 9. Puthur village with its township presently falls under three grama panchayats and they are Pavithreshwaram, Neduvathur and Kulakada. A panchayat of their own was a long-time demand of the people of Puthur.
As per the notification, seven wards from Pavithreshwaram and three wards each from Neduvathur and Kulakada will be taken to constitute the Puthur panchayat. The headquarters of the new panchayat will be Pangode which is presently in Pavithreshwaram panchayat and also presently serving as the headquarters of that panchayat.
It means that a new headquarters will have to be marked for Pavithreshwaram. But people living in Puthur village wonder why the headquarters cannot be accommodated in Puthur town itself and there already is a shopping complex of the Neduvathur panchayat in Puthur town with its first floor vacant.
They point out that the Mylamkulam area in Attuvassery East ward which is very close to Puthur town has not been included in the proposed Puthur panchayat but will be retained in the Kulakada panchayat. Some of them allege political interests behind it. At the same time the Attuvassery east ward which is quite far off from Puthur town has been included in the proposed Puthur panchyat. There are objections to this also from the people living in that ward.
It was also pointed out that the Karuvayam junction on the Kottarakara route which is very close to Puthur town should be included in the proposed panchayat but instead is proposed to be retained in Neduvathur panchayat. Similarly the Ayroorkuzhi junction on the Cheerankavu route should also be part of Puthur panchayat. Various organisations are planning demonstrations this week raising these demands.
