10 Tinsukia villages threaten to boycott polls

All these agriculture-based villages fall under No. 126 Sadiya Legislative Assembly Constituency.

As the farmers of these villages produce a large quantity of lemons every year, hence these villages were recognised as Lemon Villages by the Assam Agricultural University. But due to the lack of infrastructural facilities, the farmers of these villages fail to receive adequate rates for their production.

Moreover, these villages have also been neglected by the successive governments in terms of all basic needs like education, health etc. Besides, the yearly deluge along with flood-induced erosion too have filled the villagers� cup of woes to the brim.

Due to lack of motorable roads and bridges to the villages, the farmers of these region have been facing a lot of hardship to carry their produce to the market. As there is no cold storage in the area, the lemons which they produce by hard toil often perishes in their fields.

It goes without saying that during the lockdown period, the misery of the farmers multiplied manifold.

On Saturday, the exasperated villagers organised a meeting and discussed about the the perennial government neglect towards them in all spheres. Though they had urged the local MLA Bolin Chetia, who has been representing them for the last 15 years, to take adequate measures to solve their problems, but it was in vain.

Before every election, candidates of various political parties visit these villages and promise the villagers about solving their problems. But after election is over, the politicians conveniently forget their promises, the villagers alleged.

Hence they unanimously resolved in the meeting to boycott the next Assembly election in 2021 if their problems remained unattended by the government before the said election.