The people of five villages in Gajapati district have decided to boycott the coming panchayat elections over their various problems and demands, which have been ignored by the administration.
Sanyasi Bhuyan, Sitaram Bhuyan , Bhimsen Bhuyan and Bhikari Bhuyan of the Adivasis-dominated Ukarsingh village in Rayagad block of the district said hundreds of families reside in their village surrounded by forests and mountains.
Even 69 years after Independence, the basic amenities like drinking water, healthcare, communications, and power supply continue to elude them.
Their village is yet to have an all-weather road. If any villager is sick it is very difficult to rush him to the hospital for treatment. So many people have died without emergency healthcare. So immediately a road should be constructed to connect their village or they would boycott the panchayat polls, the locals’ threatened.
Similarly, the residents of four villages, Janisahi, Karanjsahi, Nuagaon and Sargisahi in R Udaygiri Block have decided to boycott the Panchayt elections protesting the merger of their villages in the new block Dabarguda.
Some villagers Gangadhar Raita , Dinabandhu Majhi and many others said their villages were under the jurisdiction of Chhelagad panchayat. According to the Government rules, before formation of any new panchayat the local villagers’ opinion should be taken.
But in this case this has not been done. The Chellagad Panchayat was just four km away from their villages. But the new panchayat headquarters is very far for which they would face lot of inconvenience.
They have informed all the concerned authorities about this but in vain. So they have decided to boycott the panchayat elections en masse, the villagers warned.