Protests staged to demand Panchayat elections
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, September 23 2013:
Demanding holding of Gram Panchayat elections for Kanglatombi, Kalapahar, Toribari, Santolabari and Koubru Leikha, sit-in protest demonstration were staged at Kanglatombi and Kalapahar today, under the joint aegis of Manipur Gorkha Welfare Union, Reformist Students Union, Nepali Sahitya Parishad and Gorkha Students Union.
Speaking on the sidelines of the protest demonstration, Khadga Bahadur Tamang, Secretary of Manipur Gorkha Welfare Union stated that Kanglatombi, Kalapahar, Toribari, Santolabari and Koubru Leikha were under the jurisdiction of Gram Panchayats.
During the election in 2007, many of the members of the Gram Panchayats resigned as they received threats from different quarters and as such the Gram Panchayats remained functionless.
Consequently, elections to the Gram Panchayat in these places were suspended by the concerned authority and there has been no elections to the Gram Panchayats till today.
Tamang further informed that a written complaint has been made in this regard to the High Court and the court had passed an order directing the concerned authority to conduct the elections within six months.
Since the election to the Gram Panchayats has not been conducted, the villagers have not been able to acquire any of the centrally sponsored schemes and as such they have been suffering for a quite a long time now, he lamented.