Himachal villagers boycott polls, demanding roads, internet, and schools

Shimla: Demanding basic facilities like road and internet connection, the residents of twin villages of Makhan and Chachul in Churah subdivision of Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district boycotted the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday.

The residents of the two remote villages falling under Sanval gram panchayat said that they would not vote until the district administration listens to their grievances.

"We will not vote until the district administration comes here and listens to our grievances," said Ravi, a local.

The villagers also alleged that although the administration was apprised of the issues, nothing has changed.

"We are still waiting for internet connectivity, road and electricity and the situation is so pathetic that if someone falls ill, we have to carry patients on foot for 4-5 km to reach the health centre and several people have died as they could not get treatment on time," Mukesh Kumar, a resident of Makhan village, told PTI over the phone.

Kumar said it has been 76 years since Independence but still our village awaits basic facilities like roads.

"We have decided not to vote as our demands have gone unheard," he said, adding that students are not able to study as there is no internet connectivity and several students dropped out of school during lockdown due to Covid pandemic.

"Besides basic facilities, we demand the building of government schools be repaired and the teachers be deployed in these schools. At present, there is one teacher for 100 students," he rued.

The villagers said that they would start an agitation in future in case their demands are not fulfilled.