Boycott over tunnel, 28 cast vote in Sojha

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, June 1

Most residents of Sojha village in the Banjar subdivision in Kullu district did not exercise their franchise today in protest against the alignment of the proposed Jalori tunnel. Out of the total 290 voters eligible to cast votes at the Sojha polling station, only 28 — including nine females — participated in the electoral process.

The provisional polling percentage of the district stood at 73.52 per cent, while that of Banjar subdivision stood at 74.07 per cent. At the Sojha polling station, however, the percentage stood at 9.66 per cent.

The villagers had stated that they would boycott the polls in protest against the alignment of the proposed 4.2 km double-lane tunnel, likely to go underneath the village.

Citing that it would pose a threat to the village, villagers demanded that the authorities concerned reconsider the decision, which was passed as per the DPR of 2017-18.

A recent meeting of the villagers with Banjar SDM Pankaj Sharma and the Executive Engineer of the National Highway wing of the Public Works Department remained inconclusive. Not getting any firm assurance regarding their demands, the villagers protested by abstaining from voting.

Jalori Tunnel Prabhavit Sangharsh Samiti president Rajender Prakash said most villagers opted out of voting.

“The residents are firm on their demand of not constructing the tunnel underneath the village,” he added. He said, “No written assurance was provided by the authorities and the villagers unanimously decided to boycott the polls.”

The tunnel construction would not be allowed underneath the village at any cost, he added.

“Who would be responsible if the entire village becomes vulnerable in the event that landslides or drought conditions start after the construction of the tunnel?” he said.

Elu Ram, a resident, said the Executive Engineer, at the meeting with the PWD, told the villagers that the tunnel would be made keeping in mind the convenience and safety of all parties, and the environment, and said the company constructing the tunnel would take care of it for a decade.

“The villagers told the officials that their future generations would also live here and they would reside here for more than 10 years,” Elu Ram added.

He said villagers were not satisfied with the explanations given by the officials and, thus, decided to boycott the elections.

The Banjar SDM said he had appealed to the villagers to participate in the electoral process and had assured them deliberations on their demands within a week of the completion of the polls.

He said, “The villagers were told that there was no need to boycott the elections and their grievances would be redressed at the appropriate platform.”

‘Decision unanimous’

• The villagers had boycotted the polls in protest against the alignment of the proposed 4.2 km double-lane tunnel, likely to go underneath the village.
• A recent meeting of the villagers with the Banjar SDM and the Executive Engineer of the National Highway wing of the Public Works Department remained inconclusive.
• “The residents are firm on their demand of not constructing the tunnel underneath the village,”Jalori Tunnel Prabhavit Sangharsh Samiti president Rajender Prakash said.“No written assurance was provided and the locals unanimously decided to boycott the polls.”