CHAPAGURI (CHIRANG), Dec 2 - Before the BTC election was declared, electorate of no.1 Chapaguri urban sector under Bodoland Territorial Council�s Kajalgaon seat in Chirang district had neither received any importance from the ruling BPF nor any sympathy from the sitting council member from the United People�s Party Liberal (UPPL) .
Interestingly, except for BPF no other political party has approached the electorate of the village yet to seek their support for the second phase of BTC polls scheduled on December 10.
At the entry of the village near the sand-gravel road, flags of BPF are seen flying in front of some houses. These residents have openly shown their support to the BPF party, the locals said.
�I have received a grant to build a house under the government scheme (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana). I had applied for it two years back but still I have to get the remaining amount of Rs 30,000 under the scheme,� said Hemaprabha Baruah (50), a resident of the urban sector said.
�I have not yet received any money to build a house under the government scheme though I had applied for it two years back,� said Arun Baruah (40), a wage earner of the locality.
Sand-gravel main road and lanes with no drains cause water-logging during rainy season in the village. Though the village falls under Kajalgaon town committee, it has not seen infrastructural development yet due to the indifferent attitude of the political leaders, the natives of the area alleged.
The only Anganwadi centre gets insufficient food and other materials for the children of the area compared to other centres of the neighbouring district Bongaigaon, women of the area said.
Under the Public Distribution System (PDS), ration card holders get rice and kerosene oil from the dealer here. Gram is being provided as an additional item to the ration card holders by the dealer since the enforcement of the Covid-19 induced lockdown, said local resident Damodar Baruah (70), who is a labourer.
A ration card holder gets one litre of kerosene oil for Rs 35 and rice less than 5 kgs per head for free under PDS. The poor people of this place are scared to ask the ration dealer why items are given less than the specified quantity, some beneficiaries said.
Alleged nexus between a section of politician and Food and Civil Supply department of the district has forced the common beneficiaries under PDS to refrain from asking queries on their due benefits, a social activist of the district said.
According to some local residents, UPPL has not succeeded yet to influence the majority of voters here in comparison to the BPF. The existence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Gana Suraksha Party is nil in this urban sector, which is a ward (no.4) under Kajalgaon town committee, having over 1000 voters, majority of them being Koch Rajbongshis.
Partiality, on the part of the ruling BPF, in implementation of government schemes in the village has compelled many voters of the village to choose an alternative candidate, a youth of the village, whose family had become victim of such inequality, said.
Paniram Brahma (BPF), Rwngwra Narzary (UPPL), Arpana Das (Gana Suraksha Party), Binod Wary (Indian National Congress) and Sabendra Basumatary (Voters� Party International) are the contestants in no.15 Kajalgaon council seat which is reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates.
