Works in the pipleline, civic woes persist

While residents hail transparency in recruitment in government jobs, civic issues like traffic congestion, waterlogging,   and poor drainage, along with rural distress,  are major concerns in the Thanesar constituency, , finds The Tribune reporter Nitish Sharma

VOTERS of the Thanesar constituency are yet to come out of the euphoria of the Lok Sabha elections and are considering the BJP favourite for the upcoming Assembly polls.

The Thanesar Assembly constituency has bagged many projects, including country’s first AYUSH university and a budget of Rs 97.5 crore from the Centre for development of Krishna circuit but it also has many long-pending and unaddressed demands, including traffic congestion, poor drainage and rail link between Haridwar and Kurukshetra.

Voters say the constituency has many issues but the absence of a strong political alternative is giving advantage to the saffron party.

Hoshiyar Singh, a resident of Prakash Nagar, said, “The present government has carried out development work without discrimination but in the absence of proper drainage system, the roads get flooded in the rainy season. Similarly, traffic congestion is also a big issue here. There must be a ring road and bypass roads to reduce the congestion. An elevated railway track has been approved by the Centre and it may provide the much-needed relief from traffic jams at five railway crossings in the city.”

Rajinder Singh, a building contractor, said the GST had affected business but still the BJP may win as there was no strong political alternative.

Rishi Pal, a commission agent from Amin village, said, “The results of the Lok Sabha polls may make an impact in the upcoming Assembly elections too. The transparent functioning and jobs given to the youth on merit will be an important factor in the polls.”

Mahinder Bura, a resident of Kirmach village, said fair recruitment in various government departments by the Haryana government had earned people’s praise.

“Many youths from my village and neighbouring villages have got jobs in the recent recruitments. This has never happened in the past, as jobs during the previous regimes would either be sold for money or to those close to the ruling party leaders,” he added.

However, farmers in rural areas seemed a little dejected. “The crop insurance scheme was a good initiative but there are a lot of problems with it. The farmers have to run from pillar to post to get the compensation. Sugarcane farmers have also faced a lot issues due to non-payment of dues by the mills,” said a farmer of Kirmach village.

The development of Kurukshetra as an international tourist destination is among the promises made to the people, but it is yet to become a reality. The Central and state governments have been claiming to make Kurukshetra a destination for international tourists, but things on the ground have not changed much. Ring road and six-lane projects from Pipli to Kurukshetra University are also pending.

In 2014, Subhash Sudha (BJP) from Thanesar had defeated sitting INLD MLA and then party state chief Ashok Arora by a margin of 25,638 votes. Sudha polled 68,080 votes against 42,442 votes polled by Arora while Pawan Garg of the Congress polled 13,769 votes.

The constituency has favoured the Congress which has won the seat five times since 1967. The INLD and the LKD won twice each while the BJP, JNP and the SAP once each.

Tourist destination a distant dream 

• The development of Kurukshetra as an international tourist destination is among the promises made to the people, but it is yet to become a reality 
• Ring road and six-lane projects from Pipli to Kurukshetra University are also pending.

Total voters 1,89,509 (99,592 males | 89,917 females)

Sitting MLA: Subhash Sudha, BJP

Likely contenders: Incumbent MLA Subhash Sudha (BJP), Ashok Arora (INLD), Jai Bhagwan Sharma (JJP), Pawan Garg, Suresh Unispur, Vishal Singla of the Congress).

Legislatorspeak 

Thanesar has got many projects from the state and the Centre under the BJP rule. Recently, an elevated railway track has been cleared by the Centre and it will provide relief from permanent traffic jams — Subhash Sudha, BJP MLA

Oppositionspeak 

Kurukshetra has the potential of being developed as a major tourist destination. The government has been claiming that it has taken many steps in this direction but things at the ground level have not changed. — Ashok Arora, INLD