People living in Makhan, Chachul and Juri villages in Churah subdivision of Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh boycotted the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday as they wanted a road connecting to their villages.
Residents of Juri in Charda Gram Panchayat and the isolated twin villages of Makhan and Chachul under Sanval Gram Panchayat said they would not cast their votes until the district government heard their complaints, PTI reported.
“We will not vote until the district administration comes here and listens to our complaints,” said Ravi, a local resident. People further claimed that nothing has changed even though the authorities were aware of the problems.
“We are still waiting for internet connectivity, road and electricity and the situation is so pathetic that if someone falls ill, we have to carry the patients on foot for 4 or 5 kilometers to reach the health center and several people have died as they could. not get treatment on time,” Mukesh Kumar, who lives in Makhan village, told PTI over the phone.
Kumar added: “We have decided not to vote because our demands have not been heard,” and because many students dropped out of school during the lockdown due to the Covid epidemic and because there is no internet connection, making it impossible for them to study.
A large number of men and women from the community reportedly flocked to polling station number 25 in Makhan village but refused to cast their votes.
Even after 76 years of independence, according to Kumar, our community still lacks basic infrastructure like roads. Around 900 voters are present at the booth that serves the two communities, he continued.
“In addition to basic services, we demand that public school buildings be fixed and that teachers be assigned to these institutions. Currently there is only one teacher for every 100 students,” he lamented.
In case their demands are not met, Makhan residents have threatened to launch another agitation.
The people of Juri claimed in a now viral video that they live on top of a hill with water sources nearby and that it takes them to walk about 10 kilometers to the nearest health center. They regretted that, despite having been approved in 2006, a connecting road between Charda and Juri has not yet been built.
Likewise, the Juri resident reported that they had also chosen to abstain from voting in the previous election, even though they had voted based on promises from the representatives that construction of the road would begin in 10 days. However, officials’ promises have not yet been fulfilled and the infrastructure has not yet been built.