Mussoorie, July 1 -- The activists have urged the state government to postpone the scheduled panchayat polls amid the deaths due to rain-related incidents. A total of 20 people were killed in June in rain related incidents, according to the state emergency operation centre data. "Twenty people were killed in rain related incidents while nine people remain still 'missing'. The number of those injured in rain related incidents were nine," the data stated. Anoop Nautiyal, founder of the Dehradun-based Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation, said: "There has been an increase in the number of fatalities due to rain related incidents in June, compared to the same month last year. There were five deaths reported in June 2024 and this year the figure touched 20." Nautiyal demanded panchayat elections scheduled later this month to be postponed further, given the threat to people during the monsoon season. "Conducting elections amid surging natural disasters, frequent road accidents and an already overstretched administrative machinery will pose a severe and unacceptable risk to public safety and anticipated arrival of nearly 70 million devotees for the Kanwar Mela in mid-July, an event that will inevitably place immense additional pressure on the state's administrative and emergency resources which are limited in the state," he said. He said the elections should take place in either September or October. "Ensuring public safety must remain the paramount consideration......politics and elections should never take precedence over human life, especially in a disaster-prone state like Uttarakhand," he said. He said he would place this demand before the President of India, Uttarakhand governor, and the Uttarakhand high court in the coming days. Sandeep Uniyal. a social activist, said, "We respect the court's decision to give a go ahead to the panchayat elections, but conducting elections in remotest corners of the state is an arduous task with monsoon rains lashing the state. It will become difficult for voters to come out and vote and people from rural backgrounds are also busy in their farms due to the sowing season." Uttarakhand disaster management secretary didn't respond to calls despite repeated attempts....