Mangaluru :  The second and final phase of the gram panchayat elections underway in Dakshina Kannada district which  began at 7 am on Sunday.

In the second phase,  voting is being held to elect 1,500 gram panchayat members belonging to 114 panchayats spread over Beltangady, Puttur, Kadaba and Sullia taluks.

For the 25 gram panchayats in Sullia taluk, polling began at 7 am. In some of the booths in the taluk, the rate of voting was relatively slow because of winter morning chill.

In Udupi district,people vote to elect 1,178 gram panchayat members from 86 taluks spread over Kundapur, Karkala and Kaup taluks.

A total 41 seats in Dakshina Kannada and 65 in Udulpi have already been elected unanimously.

Brisk voting was witnessed across Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts as people lined up outside polling booths from early morning.

By 1 pm, Dakshina Kannada witnessed a total voter turnout of 52.64%, with Beltangady recording 53.35%, Puttur 52.85%, Sullia 51.37%, and Kadaba 52.07%.

By 3 pm, Dakshina Kannada witnessed a total voter turnout of 65.62%, with Beltangady recording 65.91%, Puttur 65.06%, Sullia 65.09%, and Kadaba 66.15%.

Udupi district reported a total voter turnout of 50.31%, with Kapu reporting 59%, Karkala 52.49%, and Kundapur 49.49% by 1 pm.

Counting of votes will be taken up on December 30.