COIMBATORE: A large number of people besieged the Bhavani Municipality office on Tuesday against the merger of their two village panchayats with Bhavani Municipality in Erode.

Bhavani Municipality passed a resolution at an emergency meeting in December last year to bring ‘Kuruppanaickenpalayam’ and ‘Andikulam’ panchayats under their municipality limits. In this regard, Bhavani Municipality chairman Sindhuri Elangovan also submitted a petition to authorities of the district administration.

Protesting against the proposal, thousands of people from Kuruppanaickenpalayam and Andikulam panchayats gathered at Bhavani and shouting slogans against the merger plan they marched from Anthiyur ‘pirivu’ to the Bhavani Municipality office.

“The Bhavani Municipality, which has been incurring an annual revenue loss of around Rs 4 crore should be merged with Erode Corporation to bring about better growth for Bhavani area, said Nandeeshwaran from Kuruppanaickenpalayam village. “Instead, if our two panchayats, which are also reeling under deficit revenue, are merged with municipality, then it may not bring overall growth,” he said. Petitions were given to officials at the Bhavani Municipality.