Silvester D' Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (EP)

Kundapur, Aug 22: Local people gheraoed gram panchayat office protesting against waste disposal and dumping yard at Melgangolli on Tuesday, August 22.

“We will continue the protests until local MLA K Gopala Poojary arrives and receives their appeal. There are several houses belonging to scheduled caste and a junior primary school in the place proposed for dumping yard,” said the protesting villagers.

“The visit by Udupi deputy commissioner and conducting inspection of the place for dumping early in the morning without informing local people is condemnable,” they said.

As the MLA arrived, they expressed their opposition to the dumping yard and waste disposal near Port Bangle. They urged the MLA to solve drinking water problem and rectify inferior quality construction of Dr B R Ambedkar Bhavan, cleanliness of drainage and requested to make crematorium in the vicinity as public crematorium. 

The MLA who responded to the grievances of the people contacted the deputy commissioner over the phone and obtained information. He said that waste disposal and dumping yard work will be suspended in the residential areas of scheduled caste and tribes and that deputy commissioner has been requested to inform him before any such works. 

“A proposal for overhead tank will be submitted to the government to solve drinking water problem,” he said. 

He directed gram panchayat development officer to provide basic necessities such as drainage cleanliness, repairs to Ambedkar Bhavan and to hang a sign board as public crematorium to crematorium in the area.

Gangolli gram panchayat development officer B Madhava, gram panchayat member Y Srinivas Kharvi, Keshava Kharvi and others led the protests. Gangolli police station SI Subbanna and team maintained security.