Hiwrebazar was keenly watched as Gram Panchayat elections took place here after thirty years.(Repesentational) Residents of Hiwrebazar in Ahmednagar district have once again reposed their faith in the development model, resulting in the Popatrao Pawar panel sweeping the Gram Panchayat polls.
Pawar (61), a Padma Shri awardee, recieved a thumping majority with all nine members in his panel emerging victorious against the rival panel led by a private school teacher, Kishore Samble.
Hiwrebazar was keenly watched as Gram Panchayat elections took place here after thirty years. In the last three decades, the village had unanimously chosen the politics of consensus, supporting the development model and its chief architect Pawar.
This time, the villagers had to chose between Pawar’s Adarsh Gram Vikas Panel versus Samble’s Parivartan Gram Vikas Panel. The Samble panel lost its deposit.
Expressing gratitude to village residents, Pawar said, “I am humbled. The ideal village model which I set up has been accepted by the villagers. The work that went in creating the ideal developmental model is now in the hands of thousands of villagers ready to carry the work forward. It brings immense joy and satisfaction.”
“Hiwrebazar is not about development of one village. It sets an example and impacts the development in other villages… we will focus on helping development in other villages in Maharashtra,” he added.
The drought-prone village has received recognition for its work in the fields of rural transformation and water harvest. Last year, the central government had bestowed the Padma Shri award to Pawar, the Gram Panchayat head.