No water. No roads: Gadag villagers up in arms

GADAG: For the villagers of Chikkanaragund of Naragund taluk and Jigaluru in Ron taluk, boycotting the Gram Panchayat elections appears to be their only bargaining chip to get the attention of the administration. Their demands for basic amenities — asphalted roads, a drainage system, clean drinking water — have gone unheeded since the last GP elections.Villagers here have decided to boycott the poll, and nine other villages are expected to follow suit.

With repeated requests to panchayat development officers (PDOs) and other officers having failed to evoke any response, the villagers of Chikkanaragund on Friday visited the Gram Panchayat office and submitted a memorandum to the PDO, informing him of the boycott . They even threatened to lock the GP office and place bushes and thorns in front of the doors till work is taken up.

In Ron, Hosalli GP has 10 villages -- all underdeveloped -- and with officials having failed to deliver, the villagers are demanding changing the GP office to Jigaluru. The PDOs are regularly transferred too, they say.During the last GP elections, residents of these 10 villages had threatened to boycott polls but had been convinced by some senior leaders to take part. This time, they warn of intense protests.

Shekarappa Golappanavar, a villager, said, “Last time, they promised to solve the issues and we had agreed, but the situation is still the same. We also demand shifting the GP to Jigaluru, for smooth implementation of development works. We are also collecting signatures of thousands of villagers this time.”Shivu Dollin, a GP staffer, said they had brought it to the notice of senior officials.