Village along Indo-Bangla border alleges neglect, suffering from basic issues

Siliguri: Villages located along the India-Bangladesh border under the Dabgram-Fulbari Assembly Constituency, near Siliguri, have raised serious allegations of neglect against their elected representative. Among them, Champadgach village has come into focus, with residents claiming that most of the promises made during elections remain unfulfilled. Villagers alleged that multiple civic issues are still unresolved.

“We still depend on well water for our daily needs. But the water has gradually become unsafe for drinking. At times, we are forced to collect water from houses that have private connections. It is extremely difficult to live like this,” said Mohammad Rafikul, a resident of the village. Just a few kilometres from the city lies Fulbari-II Gram Panchayat, under which border-adjacent villages like Champadgach, Badlagach and Jharapara are located. Together, these three villages have around 1,009 voters and a population of approximately 3,000 to 3,500 people, most of whom depend on agriculture and daily wage labour for their livelihood.

Villagers alleged that there is no dedicated drinking water project, inadequate street lighting and several roads remain unpaved. Poor drainage systems further worsen the situation during the monsoon, often leading to waterlogging in houses.

Locals acknowledged receiving benefits from state government schemes but alleged that the sitting MLA, Shikha Chatterjee, has played no role in addressing their concerns.

They claimed that over the past five years, they have not seen her in the area and she has not yet visited the villages, even during the ongoing election campaign. This has led to growing resentment among the residents.

Another resident, Seema Roy, said: “We approached the Panchayat with our problems, but they told us it was beyond their scope. On the other hand, the MLA has never listened to our issues. We don’t know how long we will have to live like this.”

However, denying all allegations, the outgoing BJP MLA and current candidate Shikha Chatterjee said: “The funds allocated to me are very limited and it is not possible to complete all the work with that. But once we come to power in the state, all these

issues will be resolved.”