Deepkamal Kaur
If power goes off in remote villages of the kandi belt here owing to a technical fault, the supply does not get restored for two to three days. Whenever there is a medical treatment required, patients have to be ferried on motorcycles passing through rugged roads for over 5 km to reach the nearest hospital. The worst situation is of the school and college students in Covid days as they do no get Internet connectivity at their places. They have to climb a hilltop and stay there for five-six hours braving the weather to get the signal and stay connected.
Residents of kandi belt in Sham Churasi have been facing such hardship even at a time when there are talks of Digital India. “There are no roads in our area. There is no bus service either. We have to walk through stony passages across khuds to reach various places. The plight of women, elderly and children is especially pitiable,” said Shweta of Kukanet village, adding residents of Himachal Pradesh just a few kilometres from them were much better off.
Gurbachan Singh, a resident of Dehrian village, “The main occupation of people here is agriculture but we are all fed up of the animals, including wild boars that damage our crops. The area has a huge potential for tourism but it has so far not been fully utilised.”
Locals’ key demands
- Build road network
- Transport service
- Internet connectivity
- Employment avenues
Past trend
The seat has largely been with Congress seven times since 1967. In 1977, CPM’s Dev Raj got elected. In 1982, BSP’s Gurpal Chand won. Arjan Josh gave SAD its first win in 1997. After his demise, his daughter Mahinder Kaur won in 1998 bypoll, 2007 and 2012. Congress won in 2002 and 2017.
Electorate strength
Total voters: 1,76,596
Male: 91,085
Female: 85,506
Third gender: 5
Sham Churasi: Kandi area bereft of facilities
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