After poll boycott, Chamba villagers call upon CM Sukhu to address woes

Chamba, June 8

Days after boycotting the Lok Sabha elections in protest over the lack of proper road connectivity and power supply, residents of Makkan and Chachool villages in the Sanwal panchayat of the Churah Assembly segment in Chamba district have demanded that the state government should find immediate solutions to their issues.

Residents submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu through the Deputy Commissioner, expressing their frustration over the lack of essential infrastructure. Local authorities had continuously neglected their needs, they alleged.

Villagers said their panchayat representatives and Churah legislator Hans Raj had repeatedly given false excuses instead of addressing the issues of poor road facilities, inadequate electricity supply and a poor communication network.

Locals suffer

This continued neglect by our leaders is unacceptable. We suffer daily because of their inaction, and it’s time for us to take a stand. — A Makkan resident

Makkan village is home to over 120 families, while around 100 families reside in Chachool.

Only a handful of residents participated in the Lok Sabha polls held on June 1, to protest the alleged neglect.

According to the villagers, both villages lack a proper network tower.

These issues have caused significant hardships, including difficulties in transportation and accessing emergency healthcare, they added. Several deaths have been reported during hospital transfers due to the poor state of the roads. This dire situation prompted the residents to boycott the Lok Sabha polls in a bid to draw attention of the authorities to their plight, villagers said.

Despite numerous attempts to alert their representatives, no action has been taken to address their woes, the villagers alleged.

They are now demanding immediate intervention of the authorities — within the next 15 days — warning them that they would resort to protests if their grievances are not addressed.

“This continued neglect by our leaders is unacceptable,” a resident said. “We suffer daily because of their inaction, and it’s time for us to take a stand.”

The villagers’ call for action underscores the growing frustration with local governance and a demand for accountability and transparency from elected officials.

The villagers hope that their appeal would prompt necessary intervention by the authorities to improve their living conditions.