Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi
Uneven development has been a bane of this quasi-urban constituency, comprising 50 city wards and 60 villages, for long. Despite tall claims, attempts to improve the situation haven’t made much difference on the ground.
The oldest road from Committee Bazaar to Gauran Gate and Kotwali Bazaar to Ghanta Ghar Chowk in the city has been in disrepair for years with drains on both sides making matters worse. The authorities decided to use interlocking tiles with the storm sewer in the middle, but instead of solving the problem, it has added to the residents’ woes as water inundates shops and houses during rains.
The re-carpeting of roads in most parts of the city, including Islamabad, Sutehri road, Court road, etc, has raised the level of the road, causing waterlogging. As for area farmers, they had a hard time selling maize, the main produce of the area, this year as most didn’t get the government-fixed support price. “Work on the long-pending Tertiary Cancer Hospital should be completed,” says Amar Bala, a resident.
Past trend
The constituency had been a stronghold of the Congress for long, before Tikshan Sood of the BJP turned the tide and won three times in a row in 1997, 2002 and 2007. In 2012, Sunder Sham Arora won the seat back for the Congress and retained it in 2017.
Electorate strength
Total voters 1,87,822
Male 97,532
Female 90,282
Third gender 9
A maze of haphazard growth
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