Himachal Pradesh polls: In Bhattiyat constituency ravaged by flash floods, voters unenthusiastic

Kamla Devi whose house developed cracks during floods in Trimat of Bhattiyat.
(Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)

In this Bhattiyat constituency of Chamba, ravaged by flash floods and landslides due to heavy monsoon rains in August this year, an independent candidate might dent vote share of both Congress and BJP candidates in Himachal Pradesh assembly polls slated for November 12. With several houses and local infrastructure destroyed in flash floods mostly in Trimat and Banet areas, many families are still waiting for compensation and due to lack of basic infrastructure, roads and internet connectivity; daily life has become a struggle.

The incumbent two-time BJP MLA Bikram Singh Jaryal (61), a graduate and an ex-serviceman is pitted against Congress’s Kuldeep Singh Pathania (65), four-time former MLA and a law graduate. However, according to locals, both BJP and Congress candidates are expected to witness a considerable dent in their vote share with many people, especially youths, supporting independent candidate Nirmal Singh Pandey (39), a postgraduate in journalism and mass communication, currently working as an insurance agent.

Damage caused by floods and landslide in Bhattiyat.
(Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)

“He might not win because he is depending on crowd funding for campaigning and doesn’t have money power but many people are in his support because they are fed up from both Congress and BJP,” says Suyash (27), a postgraduate from Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun. “I am preparing for civil services and accessing internet here is an uphill task. During monsoons, our area remained disconnected for 10-15 days as roads were flooded with water but no one cared,” he says.

“There is no ultrasound or X-ray facility at local government hospital, and there are no specialist doctors. From the local bus stand, you don’t get a direct bus to Chandigarh or Delhi despite the HRTC depot being operational since years now,” he added.

Wall painted with the message of “Swachh Bharat” defaced by the poll posters in Bhattiyat Constituency. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)

Few kilometres away from Chowari, the divisional tehsil headquarters is Jhunee, where several houses were washed away in flash floods in August and the locals from Valmiki community (SC) were forced to relocate to other places. “Till few days back they were living in Ambedkar Bhawan, a community hall but as elections came, they were asked to leave as party workers took over the hall. We don’t know where they have gone now,” says Subhash Chambyal, a local shopkeeper. An iron bridge across the water stream in Jhunee, which too was washed away in floods, is yet to be built again. “Till then, there’s no way to reach homes and government offices on other side, except wading through waters,” said Chambyal.

“Jo marzi jeete, yahaan kuch nahi badal sakta. (No matter who wins, things won’t change here). There are no streams in local government college except BA course. It has been decades now but Chowari hasn’t made any progress,” says Rakshit (28), a graduate, now running a café.