Chattisgarh villagers threaten to boycott panchayat polls

This picture has been used for representation purpose only

Balrampur (Chhattisgarh): Residents of Piprahi village in the Ramnagar gram panchayat of the district have threatened to boycott the upcoming panchayat elections, owing to unavailability of a permanent bridge to cross a pond which connects their village to other parts of the region. As of now, the villagers use a makeshift wooden bridge to cross the pond, which they claim becomes inaccessible during the rainy season. "In the past, we have complained to the district administration and different leaders. Even after repeated requests, our demands are not met and now we have decided to boycott the upcoming panchayat elections. During monsoon when the water overflows our village turns into a mini island", Mohan Mehta, a resident of the village told reporters here.

Speaking about the bridge and the problems people face owing to it, another resident said, "A person from the village had constructed the wooden bridge as a temporary measure and we have been using it ever since. Almost every other day people keep falling while crossing the bridge, today also, a person fell while crossing the bridge with his bike."An elderly person added that despite their village being just 15 kilometres away from the Balrampur district headquarters, their complaints have till date went unheard.

"Even after 72 years of Independence we still have to depend on using a badly constructed wooden bridge, the school kids use it daily to reach their school. It is only due to the lack of a permanent bridge that an ambulance cannot enter the village and hence we have to carry patients on a cot to the hospital which is quite far," an elderly person of the village said.

"This situation has remained the same since long and despite multiple requests, we have only got hollow assurances from the officials," he further alleged.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the district Panchayat, S Harish, upon being contacted said that they were unaware of the villagers' complaints but will get them resolved soon.

"We will check the complaint and ensure prompt action. There should be no boycott of elections and we will assure that does not happen. We will look into the demands of both the bridge and road," Harish told reporters here.

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