Villagers lock gram panchayat office

Chaos prevailed at the gram panchayat office at Thubinakere, on the outskirts of Mandya, on Tuesday following a large number of farmers thronging the venue to protest against some panchayat members. A few panchayat members too the agitating villagers and encouraged them to lock the door of the panchayat office, forcing the officials to discharge their duties on the ground outside the office.

They said many members have been avoiding attending the general body meetings and thus all the last five meetings were put off following lack of quorum. Their absence has been hindering development works. The panchayat president, Y.B. Ashok Gowda Patel, too supported the protest.