Canal water supply, good roads fetch praise

Ateli residents give the thumbs up to transparent govt  recruitment policy and welfare projects undertaken in the area. Their sore points remain the poor transport service and absence of parking lots in the town, reports Ravinder Saini

Ateli is the only Assembly constituency in Mahendragarh district where women have got the chance to represent it twice in the Vidhan Sabha. Both times, they also found the opportunity to work on vital posts in the state government.

Congress leader Anita Yadav was the first woman to win the election from Ateli in 2009 by defeating the then BJP nominee Santosh Yadav by a close margin and served as Chief Parliamentary Secretary in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government.

In the next Assembly election in 2014, Santosh Yadav emerged victorious with a massive margin of over 48,000 votes. After this highest winning margin in the four Assembly seats of Mahendragarh district in 2014, she was made Deputy Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha.

As far as development and local issues are concerned, the constituency has witnessed an improvement in road condition and the supply of canal-based irrigation water. Some big projects like the Bhalkhi plan to provide potable water to 61 villages, Vegetable Excellency Centre in Sundrah village, ITI in Bhojavas village and Multiple Skill Development Centre in Sehlang village are underway but the poor drainage system and inadequate transport services remain the main concerns of local residents.

Locals seem to be satisfied with the BJP government as many youth of the constituency have got government jobs in Group-D posts and have been inducted in the Haryana Police. The abrogation of Article 370 and 35A has also left a positive impact on the people here.

“Potholed roads have been carpeted and many new link roads have also been constructed in the constituency during the past five years. Canal water has also reached villages at the tail end for the first time,” Ashok Yadav of Ateli town claimed, adding that the village ponds had also been filled with canal water. 

Krishan, another resident, said the BJP government had given a major relief to people of several villages by constructing a railway overbridge on the Ateli-Majri road as the railway crossing used to close several times in a day. 

Sunil of Gudha village said the state transport service was still poor on the Kanina-Dadri, Kanina-Kosli and Kanina-Ateli routes. The bus service from Kanina to Chandigarh was launched by the BJP government but it was withdrawn after some months. 

Ashwani Yadav, a shopkeeper in Ateli, said: “The railway underpass that connects nearly 20 villages gets inundated in the rainy season, forcing commuters to take alternative routes. The absence of parking lots in the town too causes traffic congestion.” 

Sandeep, media coordinator to the BJP MLA, said the upcoming projects included two women colleges in Ateli and Unhani village, provision of canal-based water to 33 villages, water treatment plant for Fatni village, and Kisan Rest House and Herbal Park for Ateli.

Ram Chander of Kanina said the BJP had failed to fulfil its promise of constructing a mini secretariat and judicial complex in the town, but residents were more or less satisfied with the Khattar government. 

Legislatorspeak 

Ateli was ignored by previous governments but the BJP has ensured its overall development. Several new development projects have been undertaken here while the condition of roads, health care, education and canal system have been improved considerably — Santosh Yadav, BJP MLA

Oppositionspeak 

The BJP legislator remained missing from the constituency for the past five years. She is now trying to connect with the electors ahead of the Assembly elections but people have already made up their mind. — Anita Yadav, ex-Congress MLA

Total voters: 1,86,245 

1,00,381 men

85,863 women | 1 transgender