Komna: A social boycott that was clamped on seven families in Palaspani village in Nuapada district for not voting in favour of a particular candidate in the panchayat election was lifted Tuesday after reports of the ostracism were published by this newspaper two days back.
The seven families were boycotted by the rest of the village after they decided to vote for the candidate of their choice, instead of heeding the diktat of the rest of the villagers.
Local police swung into action after Orissa POST highlighted the plight of the boycotted families and held a meeting with locals following which the boycott was lifted. The seven families, who were shunned by the entire village for the last four months, finally returned to the mainstream of the society and were allowed to resume using all the public facilities in the village.
The family members were relieved and were seen reuniting with their relatives who were prevented from meeting them over the last four months. The boycotted families can now return to a life of normalcy now that the standoff has been resolved and can attend community programmes and attend festivals, locals said.
Palasipani, situated on the border of Bolangir and Nuapada districts, is located at a distance of 20 km from Komna police station and is home to over 350 tribals, with 243 of them being on the voters’ list.
In the panchayat elections, Nityanand Sabar, Manoj Kumar Hansa and Pabitra Panda of the panchayat had contested for the post of ward member. Nityanand was supported by the ostracised families of Nilambhar Bhoi, Biswambhar Bhoi, Binod Behera, Chudamani Behera, Rupin Harpal and Dhanmat Hansa.
The voting was conducted February 13 and Manoj was declared the winner. The results, however, created a wedge between the supporters of both contestants. Later, Manoj and his supporters convened a meeting in which they decided to boycott the supporters of Nityanand.
It was decided in the meeting that whoever talks to any of the 36 members of the seven ostracised families would have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000. The families were also not allowed to attend festivals in the village.
Nobody from the village was allowed to work for the ostracised families and vice-versa. The families were also prohibited from using public tube-wells. PNN
