Chamba's remote areas still lack amenities

Lalit Mohan

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Bharmour and Churah Assembly segments in Chamba district are among the most-backward areas of Himachal. People in these constituencies are still battling for basic amenities such as potable water, electrification, schools and hospitals.

Pangi in the Bharmour segment is the remotest area of the state. It remains cut off from the rest of Chamba during winter. Even in summer, the road access to the valley from Chamba is through Sach Pass, one of the most-dangerous roads to commute on.

In winter, snow-bound areas of both Bharmour and Churah face long power cuts that extend to days together. Postings to many areas of these Assembly segments are considered as a punishment by employees. As a result, the government faces problems in posting adequate number of doctors and teachers here.

The Bharmour Assembly segment is reserved for ST candidates while Churah for SC nominees.

At present, Bharmour is represented by BJP MLA Jia Lal. Sources said the BJP was contemplating fresh candidate for the polls. The name a senior doctor posted in Shimla is being considered. The move to change the candidate is intended to beat the anti-incumbency. Though main road leading from Pathankot to Bharmour has been declared a national highway not much work has been done on the stretch of road leading from Chamba to Bharmour.

The Congress, for the past more than two decades, has been banking on Thakur Singh Bharmouri, an ex-minister in the Virbhadra Singh government, as a candidate from Bharmour. Sources said this time, Youth Congress leader Surjeet Singh Bharmouri was in contention for the party ticket here.

The Churah Assembly segment was being represented by BJP candidate Han Raj since 2017. Deputy Speaker in the Vidhan Sabha, Hans Raj won from Churah in the 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections.

He courted controversy during his current stint for using rough language against government employees at a public event. The audio and video clips in which he used rough language against employees went viral on social media. Though Hans Raj is likely to be fielded again by the BJP, he faces challenge of beating 10 years of anti-incumbency.

The sources said the Congress might field a fresh face from Churah as Surender Bharadwaj had lost twice. They said the party was contemplating fielding Yashwant Singh, a government teacher who recently quit his job.