Sources said the panches had been resenting the alleged interference of the administration in their functioning for a while.
Neighbours gather at the houe of a sarpanch in Jammu. (Express Photo by Arun Sharma)At least 70 sarpanches and panches have resigned en masse in three blocks of Ramban district of Jammu & Kashmir, upset over allegedly being sidelined by the administration. They submitted their resignation to their respective Block Development Council (BDC) chairpersons Friday.
Official sources said over half a dozen sarpanches and 30-35 panches in Ramsu block, and nearly 17 sarpanches and panches in Banihal block have resigned. Likewise, over a dozen sarpanches and panches have resigned in Ukhral block, said Ramsu Block Development Council chairperson Shafiq Ahmed Katoch.
Sources said the panches had been resenting the alleged interference of the administration in their functioning for a while. Minister of State for Rural Development Niranjan Jyoti’s vsit to Ramsu block’s Krawa panchayat as a part of the Centre’s public outreach programme was the last straw as the district administration invited neither the local sarpanch nor those of nearly half a dozen neighbouring panchayats. Many panchayat heads and members held a demonstration close to the venue.