Demanding  supply of basic amenities and good governance, residents from two villages in Jagatsinghpur district have threatened to boycott panchayat polls. They have apprised the district administration in this regard on Thursday.

While there is excitement in air over the upcoming Panchayat elections and nomination filing has been underway  since January 17, the residents of Jhatipari village under Japa Panchayat in Erasama block have refrained from any participation in the election.

They stay aggrieved as they don't have road connection, drinking water facility, health service, cyclone shelter, school building and PDS ration supply.

The children and villagers have to cross water bodies and go to a nearby village to attend school and bring ration from a PDS shop. "Our issues have been neglected for years. So we have unanimously decided to boycott the elections," informed Niranjan Mandal, a villager.

"In the last election in 2017 too, we had threatened to boycott the Panchayat polls, but we were assured of fulfillment of our demands.  But after the polls, nothing happened," lamented Alok Maiti, another villager.

Sources informed that about 170 families comprising a population of 600 have been reeling under several problems. 

The village gets disconnected during monsoon. The ambulance cannot reach the village to shift patients. After the Super Cyclone in 1999, a cyclone shelter had been built in the village but now that is in dilapidated condition.  Nobody is bothered about its renovation and repair.

The boycott threat has also been given by residents in Odisso Panchayat ward 11 under Jagatsinghpur block. In the Panchayat which is mainly tribal, the ward member post has been reserved for the ST. Here nobody turned to file nomination. The residents have grievances over caste certificate.