Fed Up With False Assurances, Villagers In 3 Odisha Districts Decide To Boycott Panchayat Elections

The residents of some villages in Ganjam, Keonjhar and Gajapati districts have decided to boycott the coming Panchayat elections in the State. They said they were forced to take such a decision because they have been deprived of minimum basic facilities over the years. 

The residents of Karadapalli village under Jagannathprasad Block in Ganjam district have no end to their sufferings. While the villagers are yet to get ration cards, drinking water, pucca roads, construction of school building and Anganwadi centre’s boundary wall have been in their wish list for a long period now.   

The inhabitants of Thakuradihi and Dangapani villages of Tala Champei Panchayat under Bansapal Block in Keonjhar district have also taken a vow to abstain from exercising their voting rights. They alleged their villages are close to Gandhamardan mines of the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). Yet, they are far away from all sorts of developmental activities. Their major cause of concern is that they haven’t been included in the recently concluded Awas Yojana survey. 

They said they would cast their votes only after receiving pucca houses, drinking water and road communication facilities. “During election time, candidates visit our village, promising to solve all our problems after winning the poll. But after getting elected, they appear once in a blue moon. Our problems remain unsolved. So this time we have decided to boycott the election,” said Basanti Mahakud, a resident of Dangapani village. “The mines are hardly of any benefit to us. Rather, they have made our lives miserable. The dust problem is the bane of our existence. That apart, we have been deprived of pucca house and drinking water facility. These are the reasons why we have decided not to participate in the election,” Mahakud added. 

The unrelenting grimness suffered by 20 families belonging to a tribal community of inaccessible Chanchhadaguda village of Govindapur Panchayat under Mohana Block in Gajapati district came to the limelight after the villagers decided to shun the coming Panchayat elections. The village is not connected by a pucca road. As a result, the residents experience a harrowing time when they need to shift a patient to some nearby hospital. They have to carry patients on slings. 

The agitated villagers said they don’t have access to drinking water either. For their daily quota of water, they depend on an unhygienic pit (chua). They also alleged that not a single family of their village had received a pucca house under any Awas Yojana. “The candidates are visiting our village these days. After the election gets over, none of the elected candidates will be seen, nor would they pay any heed to our problems. We are using water from a pit where animals drink,” said Singu Mallick. 

Another resident, Sabitri Mallick, narrated how much pain they were undergoing for not having a fair-weather road. “For none of the elected leaders has ever shown the slightest interest to end our sufferings. We have decided against using our voting right this time,” said Mallick. 

On the villagers’ stand, the respective administrations are yet to come up with reactions.