The general body meeting of the Udupi Zilla Panchayat ended within 45 minutes after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members walked out of the meeting stating that the State government had failed to address the issues of extraction of sand and giving exemption to local vehicles from toll at Sasthan and Hejmady toll plazas.
They also charged the district administration and Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis with not showing respect to the Zilla Panchayat and president of the Zilla Panchayat Dinakar Babu because the presentation of the district-level Rajyotsava awards function had been held at the same time as the general body meeting.
The meeting began 30 minutes late as many BJP members were absent and there was no quorum.
After the meeting began, Reshma Shetty and Sumeet Shetty, members, said that it was wrong on the part of Navayuga Udupi Tollway Pvt. Ltd. to levy toll on local vehicles when the road widening work on National Highway 66 on Hejmady-Kundapur stretch had not been completed. They said that service roads had not been constructed at many places.
Janardhan Tonse, member, said that the unscientific construction of NH 66 was leading to accidents at the Kallianpur-Santhekatte Junction. The officers of the toll company said that toll was being charged only on the basis of work completed and not for roads yet to be made ready.
Marali Pratap Hegde, member, said that the State government and the district administration had failed totally in solving the problem of sand extraction and the people were holding the local elected representatives responsible for it. Gitanjali Suvarna, member, said that there was no point in participating in the panchayat meetings if none of the issues get solved.
The BJP members then walked out of the meeting saying that the State government should understand their anguish. Mr. Dinakar Babu rushed to pacify the members but to no avail. Finally, he adjourned the meeting at 12.55 p.m.
