Garhwa villagers to boycott LS polls

Garhwa: Deprived of basic amenities such as electricity, road, drinking water, ration card, pension and benefits under PM Awas Yojana for the past several years, the residents of Muslim-dominated Dhawariya village in Garhwa’s Kandi block have decided to boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha poll.

Locals say even though electric poles were installed in the village almost an year ago, the power distribution company is yet to connect them with wires have.

“A road leading to the village has been lying kachcha for several years. The road is in such a poor condition that it becomes inaccessible during monsoon,” said a villager.

Six elderly villagers have reportedly been deprived of their old-age pension. Another villager, Asimuddin Ansari, said two of his children are mentally-challenged but the family has been refused any benefit from the state government.

“Why should we cast our votes when we do not get any benefit of the government’s welfare schemes. So we have decided to boycott the polls this time,” a group of villagers, including Murtaza Ansari, Ajmeri Bibi, Sangita Devi and Ashok Chaudhary, said.

Panchayat mukhiya Vinod Prasad said: “I have received complaints that the villagers have been deprived of certain amenities. But all the basic facilities, including road, electricity and drinking water, would be provided in the village soon.”