Members of Jadkal, Keradi gram panchayats in Udupi district boycott Council byelection

All 18 members, including nine men and an equal number of women, of Jadkal Gram Panchayat in Byndoor taluk and all 14 members, including seven men and seven women, of Keradi Gram Panchayat in Kundapur taluk – all in Udupi district – did not vote in the byelection held to the Legislative Council from Dakshina Kannada Local Authorities’ constituency, including Udupi district, on Monday.

It is to register their protest against any move of the government bringing their villages under the purview of implementing the recommendations of Kasturirangan Committee Report on the Western Ghats.

In Chittor Gram Panchayat in Kundapur taluk, two members of a total eight members voted in the afternoon, reports reaching here said.

It may be mentioned here that the Jadkal Mudur Grama Hitarakshana Samiti of Byndoor taluk staged a dharna in front of the Udupi Deputy Commissioner’s office last month urging the government to keep human habitations out of the purview of the report while implementing the recommendations of the high-level working group led by the senior scientist who headed the ISRO.

The samiti, which termed the report as unscientific, said people living in 37 villages of Udupi district will be affected if the recommendations are implemented in toto as the villages fell under the ecologically sensitive area.

The polling officials in the two polling stations (Jadkal and Keradi Gram Panchayats) waited till 4 p.m. but none of the members of the panchayats turned up .

Earlier, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Udupi and Assistant Returning Officer G.S. Mamathadevi had appealed to the members not to boycott the byelection.

Published - October 22, 2024 07:00 am IST