The call for ‘no road, no vote’ is gaining momentum in Uttarakhand ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, with residents from many villages across the state threatening to boycott the polls.

The locals feel neglected by both the major parties, Bharatiya Janta Party and Congress, as some villages have remained cut off from nearby towns since independence. Villagers say that due to lack of road, people are forced to migrate from the villages as employment and health facilities are not easily accessible to them.

Uttarkashi

In Uttarkashi, residents of eight villages from the Purola block have threatened to boycott the polls over the demand of road connectivity. Residents of Shikaaru and Sir Badiyar villages, which are located at a distance of 15 kilometers from Purola block, met the sub-divisional magistrate of the area last Wednesday and gave him a letter, warning that if roads of eight villages in the area are not constructed, then all residents would boycott the polls.

Puran Singh, sub-divisional magistrate of Purola, said officials have interacted with the villagers and assured them that the public works department will inspect the area and construct roads in villages in the area.

Tehri Garhwal

Two villages, Kharak and Melgarh, of Jaunpur block in Tehri Garhwal have remained cut off from main city since independence due to lack of proper road connectivity. Threatening to boycott the upcoming elections, Kharak village head Vinita Devi said, “In 2003-04 the government had sanctioned a road construction project from Kharson Kyari till Kandi village via Ban Gaon and Kharak. The government had given compensation also to the owners of the agriculture fields whose land would have been taken for the project, but work has still not been completed even after 15 years. Construction work was carried out only in the initial 10 kilometres up to Suransu village.”

Devi added, “The residents are determined to use None of the Above (NOTA) option if the demand for road connectivity to Kharak Village is not met.”

Kharak village in Tehri Garhwal. ( HT Photo )

SS Kharkai, a local, said villagers usually carry the old and sick people on their backs and trek for minimum two kilometres on a steep stretch to reach the nearest village from where the hospital is another eight kilometres via a non-metalled road.

Melgarh village was promised road connectivity from two places but villagers allege that no action has been taken by the government. Reena Kumar, the village head of Melgarhm said, “The two roads of four-kilometre each from Silansu bridge to Melgarh and from Kandi to Melgarh were proposed in 2015 and 2017, respectively, but no action has been initiated despite repeated reminders to the administration. Therefore, we are left with no option but to boycott the elections.”

Raza Abbas, sub-divisional magistrate and assistant returning officer of Dhanaulti, said, “We will be going to these two villages in a day or two and try to address their problems. We will convince them to vote in the upcoming elections.”

Bageshwar

Residents of Gapani village from Bageshwar have only one question, “Vote dekar kya karenge, jab kisi ne humari samasya sunna nahi hai? (What is the point of voting when nobody wants to listen to our problems?)”

Gapani is 24 kilometres from Bageshwar district headquarters where villagers travel a minimum of eight kilometres on foot to reach Angarhi, a place where they get transport facility for reaching the district headquarters.

Rekha Goswami, a 30-year-old resident of Gapani, said, “We voted in 2009, 2012, 2014 and in 2017 also in the hope that we would get road connectivity, but now we feel cheated after all these years.” She added that villagers are facing issues like migration, unemployment, education, health, water among other problems, but proper road connectivity is their main demand.

Balwant Singh Bhoryal, the MLA from Kapkot, said, “The road between Angarhi to Gapani has already been sanctioned but we are waiting for a clearance from the forest department to start the work.”

First Published: Apr 09, 2019 17:21 IST