Adilabad: Villagers Threaten Boycott of Elections Over Lack of Development

Adilabad: Incidents of contesting candidates and election officials facing protests in villages have come to light in erstwhile Adilabad district with villagers protesting that no development has been taken up in their villages since the last elections.

These incidents are taking place when political leaders try to persuade people to vote for them, or officials ask people to widely participate in elections and register high poll percentages at the polling booths in their villages.

Two days ago, local people took to task BRS candidate N. Diwakar Rao for not laying roads and poor drainage system in Seetharampalli village of Naspur municipality of Mancherial assembly constituency.

The villagers accused Diwakar Rao of remembering them only during elections.

The BRS candidate tried to convince the villagers but did not succeed. He finally left the place.

In the interior Gangapur village located in dense forests of Kadam mandal of Nirmal district, people protested over lack of road connectivity when officials visited their village to make arrangements for establishing a polling booth.

Villagers told officials that they are facing considerable hardships, as there is only a gravel road laid using a JCB, with villagers contributing donations. They pointed out that these roads get washed away every year when there are heavy rains and floods.

Angry youth of the village said all political parties, including Congress, TDP and BRS have failed in laying a permanent road to their village during the past 30 years. One of the youth said he is a witness to the bad roads since childhood. He is not 30 years' old.

There have been instances of pregnant women of Gangapur giving birth to new-borns on banks of streams and rivulets, when they cannot cross flowing streams to reach hospitals in time. Some have also died of serious health complications while trying to reach a hospital in Kadam, Khanapur or Nirmal.