Tension in Gejjalagere over black flag protest bid

Mandya: Tension prevailed in Gejjalagere village of Maddur taluk on Monday following an attempted black-flag protest targeting MLA K M Uday.Villagers, who have been staging an indefinite protest for the past 119 days in front of the GP office, are opposing the proposed merger of Gejjalagere into the Maddur municipality. Anticipating the MLA's visit to attend a housewarming ceremony of a Congress worker, the protesters had planned to wave black flags as a mark of dissent.As part of the demonstration, several protesters wore black armbands, while women participants planned to carry brooms to symbolically express their anger. However, the protest did not materialise as planned, as the MLA's visit to the village was cancelled. Sources said he had to travel to Bengaluru to attend other official engagements due to a packed schedule.Farmers' rights activist Sunanda Jayaram and local leaders Lingappaji, Mohan, Shankar, Lokesh, Prakash and G P Yogesh, along with a large number of women villagers, were present.