PONDA: Usgao Sarpanch Asmitha Gaude and six other panchas were on Sunday locked up in the panchayat hall for nearly an hour for granting NOC for a mobile tower. The incident occurred during the Sunday gram sabha. They were locked up by the residents of Gotamod ward of Usgao, where the mobile tower is proposed to be erected.
Gotamod ward residents who attended the meeting in large numbers were irked that the sarpanch took up for discussion all other issues on the agenda, but not the issue of mobile tower.
Gotamod residents said that they had given an application for discussion on the mobile tower on January 14 and were expecting a discussion on Sunday.
The locals say that they are opposing the mobile tower close to residential area as it is harmful to them. But when the sarpanch was about to close the gram sabha meeting without discussing the mobile tower issue, the Gotamod locals got furious and blocked the sarpanch from leaving the gram sabha hall and confined her and six other panchas in the hall from 12 noon to 1 pm.
The sarpanch was allowed to leave the hall only after she assured to revoke the licence issued for the mobile tower. She asked the locals to give their objection in writing so that the NOC could be revoked by the panchayat.
The Locals also demanded revocation of the NOC granted to the extension plant of MRF company at Usgao. Locals said that the panchayat had illegally given NOC to MRF extension plant and there has been no environment clearance as well as clearance from Water Resource Department for the said extension plant and demanded to revoke the NOC to the extension plant.
