Kasauli, Jayanti Majri booths wear deserted look

Mohali, June 1

Very few residents of six Kandi villages in Kasauli, including Karondhewala, Baghindi, Gurha, Tanda and Tandi villages, exercise their franchise at the Kasauli and Jayanti Majri polling booths to mark their protest against political parties for failing to provide basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges, bus service, hospitals, and drinking water, among others, in the area.

The Kharar SDM, Gurmandar Singh, said a total of six eligible voters exercised their franchise at the Kasauli polling station and 83 cast their vote at Jayanti Majri. He said the Kasauli polling booth had 1,259 votes and the Jayanti Majri had an electorate of 800.

The villages falling under the Kharar subdivision have poor connectivity and pretty much no health facilities. The roads are not metalled, and the under-construction bridges have not been completed for years. The residents said the Ayurvedic dispensary has been running from an under-construction building in Jayanti Majri.

However, the major grievance of the residents was that the present government took away the (Mushtarqa) land from the residents and handed it over to panchayats. The issue is lingering in the courts; however, residents of the area are upset that, apart from not being able to provide the bare minimum facilities to them, the government has begun snatching away their land.

The area lies on the Punjab-Haryana boundary. The residents complained that the roads are not metalled on the Punjab side; however, they are in very good condition on the Haryana side.

Gurdev Singh, a resident of Kasauli, said, “By boycotting elections, the villages have shown their anger and distrust in the administration. No one was forced to make this decision. There was a consensus among the residents because of the state of affairs here. The Chandigarh border, the capital city of the state, is just nine kilometres away from here. Even then, the state that we are forced to live in have been atrocious.”

Another resident, Hardeep Singh, said, “After 70 years of independence, we do not have proper roads in our village. Bus nahi ati 70 saal baad bi… During monsoons, the Kandi area is cut off from the rest of the state. The situation could not be any worse.”

The Mullanpur DSP, Dharamvir Singh, reached village with police force to prevent any untoward incidents at around 1 pm.