Sonamura , Sep 30, 2024, TRIPURA TIMES Desk

Sonamura, Sept 30: In a bizarre incident, panchayat officials of Laxmandepa Gram Panchayat in Nachar Block were locked inside the Panchayat office by some villagers over delay in the payment of MGNREGA wages that have been pending for four months.

Later, Chairman of Nalchar Panchayat Samira, Sawpan Das, along with the Block Development Officer (BDO), rushed to the spot and unlocked the Panchayat office after communicating with the agitating villagers.

According to Das, the demands of the few villagers were illegal, as they had used a Bulldozer machine and only a few workers were involved in digging a pond allotted under the MGNREGA project. The officials interacted with the villagers and stated that the work done using a Bulldozer machine would not be paid according to the rules.

Das also mentioned that the use of any machinery in MGNREGA work is a violation of the law. Therefore, anyone who used such machinery for MGNREGA work has committed an illegal act. He stated that the outstanding payments would be processed after an inspection of the work completed.