‘Powerless’ villagers plan poll boycott

The tehsil,with a majority population of Dalits,will go to polls on April 23. Now,the villagers say they will not allow leaders to campaign here.

Around 95 per cent of the population in villages of Kali Ka Purva and Shital Ka Purva belong to the Schedule Castes community and most of them,as per government records,have been living below poverty line since Independence.

Kali Charan,a middle-aged man,who has studied up to Class VIII,said the tehsil,which is a reserved Assembly constituency,is still steeped in darkness despite being represented by Dalit leaders.

“Our children don’t know what an electric bulb is. Most of us work in fields owned by members of the uppers caste community for nominal wages,” said Kali Charan.

Sultan Ahmad,a youth,who lives in Shital Ka Purva,said all their pleas to the government officials have remained unanswered.

Madupur,another village in Sohawal,has a different grouse. The village now wants to be attached to Sadar tehsil as headquarters of the Sohawal tehsil is too far. Chandra Bhan Paswan,a social activist,said they have been pressing with their demand for the past 20 years,but to no avail.