Meanwhile, villagers allege that a disagreement over the use of Tulu also lead to the cancellation of the meeting. Mangaluru: A special gram sabha scheduled at Kaliya gram panchayat in Belthangady taluk on Tuesday was cancelled after villagers refused to proceed with the meeting over a delay in its commencement.
“We gathered at 10.30 am, but even by noon, the meeting had not started.
Keshava, former Kaliya gram panchayat president, said villagers had gathered to discuss the works and raise demands under the employment guarantee scheme, but were left waiting without a clear response. We cannot spend the entire day waiting,” he said. Keshava said the Tulu issue arose when villagers discussed leaving and returning another day. A nodal officer present at the gram panchayat reportedly told villagers that he could not understand Tulu.
We did not know who was supposed to conduct it, and the chairs meant for the officials were empty. We are farmers and have work to do.
Keshava said he responded that Tulu was their mother tongue and that the officer should learn it or bring someone who could understand it. He said people should be able to speak their mother tongue and officials working in the region should make arrangements to understand it. Kunha K, in-charge panchayat development officer (PDO), said Belthangady taluk panchayat executive officer Bhavanishankar and other staff had gone to inspect a road following a complaint to the deputy commissioner. Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat CEO Narwade Vinayak Karbhari said the state govt was yet to issue detailed guidelines on implementing Tulu as the second additional official administrative language. There had been discussions about providing translators in offices, but we cannot confirm the arrangements until the govt issues clear instructions,” he said. The ZP CEO said applications submitted in Tulu would have to be accepted and processed, but arrangements, including the level at which translators would be appointed, were yet to be finalised.
Though the cabinet had approved the move, departments were yet to receive instructions on its implementation. “Once the guidelines are issued, they will clarify the changes to be made.