Shahdol (Madhya Pradesh): Amid the ongoing polling for three-tier panchayat elections in Madhya Pradesh, the villagers of Shyamdih and Kanwahi in Shahdol district are hell-bent on boycotting elections if their demands including the completion of under-construction work of two bridges are not met.
Construction of these two bridges over Sone river (tributary of river Ganga) has been a long-standing demand of the residents of Shyamdih and Kanwahi villagers coming under Gohpari tehsil. However, they claimed that the work is being done at snail’s pace and all their pleas to speed up the construction work have fallen on deaf ears.
The construction of bridges started 8 years back by Kaushal Prasad Patel Construction Company and the work still remains incomplete. The people are facing lot of problems due to non-completion of the bridges. Missing several deadlines, the construction of the bridges and 1km-long water bound macadam road (WDM) started in 2015 at an estimated cost of Rs 462 lakh. It was supposed to be completed within 5 years but it still remains incomplete.
The residents of these two villagers recently submitted a complaint to the collector and district election officer in which they stated that they had been demanding completion of two bridges over Sone river for long.
They have to travel extra 50 km to reach Shahdol civil hospital to get treatment even in emergency medical situations, risking their lives. Finding no other option, they met local MLA who assured to look into their demand soon.
(with inputs from Mohd Munir)
