‘I know my vote in favour of NOTA shall make a difference one day, if not now.’

Lovleen Bains

Doraha, December 30

A good number of elderly persons and youngsters today duly exercised their right to vote not in favour of any party or candidate by pressing the NOTA (none of the above) button. This disgruntled group attributed their action to the non-functional attitude of the panchayats of their villages.

Having been influenced by candidates of different parties time and again, these villagers showed least interest in them this time, disillusioned as they are by the manner in which the three-tier system runs after coming to power. The category mainly comprised of the elderly people for whom the oily tongues of the candidates hold no importance now or the educated awakened youngsters who have already given up all hopes of getting anything worthwhile from the panchayats, block samitis and zila parishads.

“These people have fooled us time and again. Neither an alliance nor the Congress can think about general welfare, rather they have their own coffers to fill,” said most voters of these villages. “Why should we vote for such people after all? I know exercising my right to franchise in favour of NOTA shall make a difference one day, if not now. The reason for my disgust is that it has been years that we are crying for basic amenities, but no one has ever tried to give an ear,” said a resident of Begowal village.

“The villages are no less than a hell. The drainage system has almost collapsed, unhygienic conditions are allowed to prevail, repair of badly damaged streets is negligible, raising of low-lying areas, clearance of blockages and timely evacuation of accumulated water seldom take place, and lighting facility is almost nil. Years have passed but our position has remained the same. The panchayats have always fooled us. The arrival of grants, which the sarpanches had been assuring for years, was nothing but a false assurance. We have been left to our own fate,” said a resident of Bilaspur village.

Another resident of the village complained: “Despite receiving grants worth lakhs, our villages are the poorest of all. They are literally on the verge of destruction, with filth, squalor, sewer and disease entering the houses. We are utterly deprived of the facilities so essential for our very sustenance. The grants have been utilised by the panchayat, God knows for what. No constructive work at the village was ever carried out with these grants.”