Uttarakhand - Kumaon Voters Annoyed As Issues Are Ignored

Elections are an occasion when the politicians are compelled to reach out to the people. However, the politicians often talk about emotive issues rather than the real issues that the people are concerned about.

This is seen on the ground when one climbs the hills of Uttarakhand that goes to polls on April 19. The Citizen has been reporting various issues from places that normally go under-reported unless something really big happens.

In the hills of Kumaon from Tanakpur a different election atmosphere prevails. There is very little campaigning on ground here, and sloganeering is just done through the loudspeakers mounted on cars.

In the cities, the political parties are talking about “Ram Mandir, saving the Constitution, Uniform Civil Code (UCC), love jihad and land jihad.” However, on the ground in the rural and urban areas of Champawat there are issues of concern that may seem trivial for those sitting in the plains, or in the big cities.

Here the people are concerned about the looming scarcity of water even though the summer has just started. People are concerned about the changing weather patterns.

They are concerned about better civic amenities. They are worried about the employment concerns for the youth who would otherwise descend to the plains and metros to work for a pittance. The people are worried about the charm of defence services waning with the introduction of the Agniveer scheme.

The people want better transport facilities. It comes as a shock to outsiders when they come to know that there is no night bus service in the hill districts of the state.

The women here are worried about the menace of drugs that has started making its presence in the hills due to rising unemployment. Then there is the most important issue of an animal conflict that is assuming alarming proportions.

Yet all these issues are missing from the poll narrative here. This has left the people angry, frustrated and cynical. One has to just start a discussion with the common folk and their pain starts oozing out. Champawat is represented by the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

One has to just turn the pages of the local newspapers to understand how difficult life remains for the people of the area. There are reports of how passengers of a Lohaghat bound bus from Tanakpur had to sit on the road in the middle of nowhere when the old roadways bus broke down. The officials have been quoted saying that “new buses will arrive soon”.

Then there are reports from the neighbouring district of Pithoragarh, where the village women are compelled to rush out as early as 3 AM, carrying torches, to fetch water from the natural sources that are quickly drying up.

“The situation is not much better in Lohaghat either. The summers are yet to begin and there is a crisis already,” a woman from Lohaghat said.

The people of Burkila Dhura have just withdrawn their threat to boycott the Lok Sabha polls, after being pacified by the officials that work is on under the Jal Jeevan mission to provide them with drinking water

Then there are reports of forest fires in Didihat, Thal along with Tarigaon and Surakot in Barakot area. A cloud cover accompanied by lack of precipitation leads to a lot of problems for the people in the area including respiratory illnesses.

“Nothing concrete has been done to address the ever growing man-animal conflict. A few days ago the forest department officials trapped a leopard that had attacked several two wheeler riders on this stretch.

“There are many leopards here. With their natural habitat disturbed by continuous construction, and drying up of water resources, they are compelled to come closer to the human settlements and roads,” Haji Naseeruddin, who drives a taxi between Tanakpur and Lohaghat, explained.

“The menace of wild animals has led to the farmers giving up farming in large areas in the hills. Wild boars and monkeys destroy all their crops,” he added.

The people also point out the lack of initiatives in promoting the food processing industry in the hills. This has led to the people even giving up on fruit production.

Locals are annoyed with the politicians and said that the “politicians just come once in five years and vanish after that. They have no time or concern about what the people are facing or what they want.

“They do not get tired of playing up Uttarakhand as Urja Pradesh (energy state) while we are the ones who often face power cuts,” Anurag Shah, a businessman in Champawat market, said.

“Have they ever bothered to ensure that doctors are available round the year in the government hospitals, whether in Lohaghat or in Champawat. They have now built a helipad and take patients to bigger hospitals by charging Rs 3,500. But why can’t people get proper healthcare here?” a woman employed with one of the government offices, asked.

Employment concerns rank high on the minds of the people. They are angry over the employment and recruitment scams that have rocked the state in the recent past. “Recruiting a person through corrupt means while denying rightful candidates their legitimate jobs will ensure that those recruited will become corrupt officials. What kind of a society do they want to create?” a local resident asked.

It was interesting to listen to the people sitting at a tea shop near the local bus station where a television news channel was beaming its daily business of ‘communal’ reporting. “How does a Ram temple built in Ayodhya matter to a person sitting here? Only those with money will go to visit it once in their lifetime. They have even politicised the gods which is shameful,” a local said.

“They never talk about the poor education levels in government schools and the ever increasing fees of private schools. They never try to understand how people are being fleeced and pay through their noses to purchase school books and uniforms for their wards,” another added.

Champawat and Pithoragarh are a part of the larger Almora parliamentary constituency. Traditional rivals Ajay Tamta of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Pradeep Tamta of the Congress are main contenders on this seat which is the lone reserved constituency in Uttarakhand.

Cover Photograph Rajeev Khanna