Some villagers in various parts of the State expressed their grievances with the authorities by boycotting the gram panchayat elections on Tuesday.
People of three panchayats in Sakleshpur boycotted the elections opposing the implementation of the K. Kasturirangan report. There was no polling in Heggadde, Hettur, and Hongadahalla gram panchayats.
Similarly, in Mudigere taluk, the residents of two villages — Malemane and Megur — boycotted the polls alleging that the State government had not provided proper relief to flood victims.
In coastal Karnataka, there were no contestants in the 12-seat Kodi Gram Panchayat, which falls under Brahmavar taluk in Udupi district. The villagers boycotted the polls on two issues and ensured that no one filed nomination papers. They were expressing their ire against the non-grant of title deeds and the delay in construction of a fisheries jetty on the back-waters of Seethanadi river.
Krishna Poojary P., a former member of the panchayat, said that title deeds had remained elusive for 431 houses built in the jurisdiction of four wards of the panchayat, some dating back to the 1960s. Government officials have cited rules of the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) as coming in the way of granting title deeds. The government has not completed the construction of the jetty also citing CRZ rules.
B. Sadashiva Prabhu, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Udupi, said that though three candidates had filed their nominations, they withdrew them later. A re-notification to conduct the election to the panchayat is likely later.
