JOIN USThe residents of Matnalli and Adigalale have decided to boycott the upcoming zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat elections. The people have taken the move as no step has been taken in either of the villages, to repair the road that are in a state of dilapidation.
“The villages are only four kilometres away from the taluk centre, Somwarpet. Yet, the roads here are pothole-ridden for several years now. There are around 100 families and more than 400 voters in the villages. The roads were laid during the tenure of former Chief Minister Gundu Rao, and have not been touched since then,” Gram Sabha President Yogesh informed, adding, “The officials and elected representatives have both taken no initiative of any sort to repair the roads.”
The people of Matnalli and Adigalale have been facing a lot of difficulties due to the poor condition of the roads. Hundreds of youngsters – who are studying in various colleges in Somwarpet – as well as residents who work as either auto rickshaw or other vehicle drivers refuse to traverse the bad roads. The residents are also denied bus facilities to make up for the difficulty. The people have been getting the grocery and other supplies to their homes in the villages from the taluk centres and are forced to do so carrying the loads on their heads and walking on the roads.
Negligence
“Although the people have requested the legislators – M M Belliyappa, B A Jeevijaya and Appacchu Ranjan – the pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” said Poovaiah, local resident, and Rudrappa, Gram Sabha secretary.
The local residents said that they would not vote in any election, unless the problem of the bad road is solved. “There is no need for any leader of any party to come to the villages to carry out their election campaigns,” they said with firmness.
DH News Service