Villagers threaten to boycott poll

BALURGHAT: A road was supposed to be repaired under the Pathashree project for the residents of Rainagar (West) of Balurghat block’s Danga Gram Panchayat. About a month ago, a plaque for the road construction was installed but construction is yet to commence. The plaque mentions that the work will begin in February, 2024.

Locals have demanded that construction work commence ahead of Lok Sabha Election 2024 otherwise they will call for a vote boycott.

According to the locals, if there is no road, they will boycott not only the Lok Sabha elections but all the upcoming elections.

There are about 200 voters in this village comprising 50 families. About 150m stretch of the total 300m-long-stretch of the road that connects to the main Balurghat-Hili National Highway 512 is an unpaved one.

Incidentally, after being informed several times, the block administration of Balurghat took up the matter and then it was decided to to repair the road under Pathashree.

Arup Sarkar, Sabhapati of Balurghat Panchayat Samiti, said: “The construction of the road has not yet been started due to the announcement of polls. The work will start as soon as the poll is over.”