Urban villages come to vote in droves to vent out their frustration

Sunday's Municipal Corporation elections were another opportunity for residents of urban Delhi to express their anger by getting their finger inked.

Residents of urban villages like Shahpur Jat, Begum Pur, Ghitorni and Lado Sarai rued about the dissatisfaction with the civic authorities.

The blazing summer did not deter several voters in these areas to come with their family cast their votes.

Many urban voters said that though they had progressed financially, the civic woes in their areas remained unattended.

Along with corruption in the civic bodies, major complaints included irregular water supply, poor quality of sewers, lack of good parks and poor quality of education and healthcare provided in municipal schools and hospitals.

Ankita Pawar of Shahpur Jat said she is hopeful that things will change for better through Sundays' of voting.

"There is no denying that the rich and upper middle class come in fewer numbers to vote. Even though the turnout may not be large, residents of urban villages do come out and vote because many feel that their needs are not addressed well by authorities," said Pawar, whose family came out to her vote too.

"Even though we are surrounded by one of the posh and the richest areas in the city, the sewage system in our village has not been improved at all. In monsoons, the residents face extremely difficult time to even walk.

"There is also no effective garbage disposal system in our area and no improvements have been made to improve the quality of education and healthcare in our area. It is disappointing that even though the municipal elections should be based on issues, there was emphasis on rhetoric than solutions," added Panwar.

Further highlighting the woes of voters in urban villages, Ramdhir Yadav a voter from Aya Nagar said, "Over the years, voters in the urban villages have changed. With many urban villages in Delhi having rented outlets, more tenants as voters compared to landlords. Rich landlords have become indifferent to voting, but the tenants feel that this is another opportunity for them to change their lives by voting for the right candidate."