Problems not resolved, Bathinda village decides to boycott Lok Sabha poll

Irked over lack of basic amenities, residents of the Ramgarh Bhundar village have announced boycott of all candidates in the Lok Sabha elections. In this regard, big banners have been put up in the village.

Villagers rue the dirty pond in the village from which a strong stench emanates, making life difficult for them. Also, due to the salinity in the underground water, they have to arrange potable water from far away. Besides, non-availability of canal water has hit the crops as the village is located at the tail end of the canal.

There is a school up to eighth standard in the school, after which the children have to go to other villages for further education. Apart from this, there is no library or clinic in the village, due to which villagers have to travel 20 km to get treatment.

Although leaders had been making promises to them every time during elections, none of these had been fulfilled. This has led to anger and resentment among villagers.

Baljinder Singh of the village said any candidate, be it an independent also, who would come to his village to seek votes would face strong opposition. Similarly, Gurmail Singh, another villager, said they would not allow any political party to set up a booth in their village. He said the villagers had been living a hellish life for a long time.

Meanwhile, Bathinda DC Jaspreet Singh said a section of people in the village had taken a call to not allow the candidates from entering the village. “We have a polling booth in the village and will send a team there to check the matter.”