Thursday, 18 APRIL 2024 | PNS | JOSHIMATH
Sticking to the ‘no road, no vote’ plank un-mollified by the fidgety administration’s assurances, the people Dumak village in the bordering area of Chamoli district have finally decided to abstain from voting in the Lok Sabha election slated for Friday. The decision was announced at a gram sabha meeting chaired by the chairman of the Vikas Sangharsh Committee Rajendra Singh Bhandar on Wednesday. The meeting was convened to decide whether to participate in or abstain from the poll.
Those who attended the meeting deliberated on the present status of the ongoing road construction project. It was then unanimously decided that if no progress is made on the road before the poll date which is unlikely, the villagers would boycott the election en masse. Apart from this, they also warned that if the government fails to address the road issue meanwhile, they would be compelled to boycott the assembly elections too.
Notably, the villagers have been sulking as the 32-km road construction project in Dumak, initiated under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) about 15 years ago, has remained unfinished till date despite huge funds being pumped in.
The villagers say that with the completion of the road construction remaining incomplete, they have to trek a distance of nearly 20 kilometres to reach the polling booths to cast votes during elections.
