CALANGUTE: Villagers created ruckus when they found that the panchayat secretary failed to turn up for the Calangute gram sabha on Sunday, and demanded the sarpanch to adjourn the meeting. However, since the police were present at the venue well in advance of the meeting, they restored order immediately.
According to the gram sabha members, fearing that he would have to answer a barrage of questions over the issue of bringing Calangute under the Planning Development Authority (PDA), Secretary Raghuvir Bhagkar remained absent for the meeting. Angry at Bhagkar’s absence, the villagers moved an adjournment motion.
A gram sabha member Jose Braganza said that rules mandated that the secretary must be present for the meeting, while former panch Clotilda Braganza demanded to know the reason for secretary’s absence at the meeting. She also accused the secretary of rejecting several issues proposed for discussion at the Sunday gram sabha.
People wondered why the panchayat was conducting gram sabha, if its intention is to suppress people’s voice.
However, amidst the chaos, the villagers passed a resolution directing the panchayat not to schedule gram sabha on first Sunday of the month.
Meanwhile, to calm down the chaos, Sarpanch Anthony Menezes threatened to resign his post next month.
