Protesting villagers stall Cantt board polls

DHARAMSHALA: Protesting villagers stalled the election process of Yol Cantonment Board, Dharamshala, here on Tuesday. They were demanding denotification of the board and formation of panchayats.
As hundreds of villagers gathered before the headquarters of 9 Corps at Yol near here, board chairman and station commandant P K Mishra announced that elections for the new body stand suspended as no candidate had filed nomination papers for any of the seven wards.
The board administration had fixed December 11 for filing of nomination papers but later extended the date till December 16. The elections were scheduled for January 11, 2015.
The district administration had deployed police at the board office to maintain law and order and avoid any untoward incident. The protest was held under the banner of Gram Panchayat Sangharsh Smiti. The president of Gram Panchayat Sangharsh, Smiti Gian Chand, said government was implementing rural employment guarantee scheme across the state but these villages could not avail the benefits as they were under the cantonment board.