MARGAO
Welcome to Kirbhat in Nuvem village – considered the Scheduled tribe hub. The overwhelming majority of the population here comprises of the ST community, coming under Ward 10 of the Nuvem village panchayat.
Yet, the ward is reserved for the OBC community, leaving the ST community an agitated lot. The locals here have decided to oppose any outside candidate foisted on the local populace and stage a boycott of the ensuing panchayat poll if the government fails to reserve the ward for the ST community.
That the residents of the ward are deeply agitated was evident by the fact that they hit the streets to protest against the reservation of the ward for the OBC. Infuriated over the government’s decision, the local residents said they will have no option other than to stage a protest at the polling booth on the day of polling and to oppose any outside candidate from contesting the election.
The residents now plan to knock on the doors of the government by petitioning the panchayat minister, State Election Commission and the panchayat director to come out with a corrigendum notification in respect of Ward 10 of Nuvem village and the ward be made a general ward.
Says Domingo Fernandes, “Ward 10 of Nuvem panchayat, comprising of Kirbhat, is dominated by the ST population. Only a few families belonging to other communities live here. Our inquiries have revealed that no member from these families is willing to contest the election. This means that there isn’t going to be any OBC candidate from the ward, but there’s a possibility of an outside candidate contesting from Kirbhat, which the residents will oppose tooth and nail,” Domingo said.
Gracy Fernandes echoed similar sentiments. She said there is no OBC candidate willing to contest the election from Ward 10, which is predominantly dominated by the STs. “We don’t want an outside candidate to represent us. Hence, we are petitioning the government to set aside the reservation of the ward for the OBC,” she added.
