Civic amenities like roads, street lights, sewerage line, waste management and development works will be the main issues in the forthcoming civic bodies election, slated to be held on April 28, said candidates in different municipal wards on Sunday. However, some voters said elections come and go but issues remain the same. With the notification for the civic bodies elections being issued, different party workers were seen at public places seeking candidature for their wards.
According to them, they had worked for their respective parties during parliamentary and legislative elections so their chance of getting ticket was better than other candidates. Some sitting councillors in the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun compound said that they had facilitated several developmental projects like building of Cement Concrete (CC) road, community hall, and installation of electricity poles, sanitation and street lights in consultation with member of legislative assembly in their ward.
Sitting councillor Vinay Kohli said that around 16, 000 residents are living in his ward but only 5, 000 residents are voters. He had fought and won the last election as an independent candidate but later he supported Congress party. He hopes to get a ticket from Congress party. He claims to have facilitated development in his ward while adding that incomplete works would be completed after the election.
Som Prakash Valmiki said that he would file his nomination first time from ward no -21, having facilitated development works in consultation with the MlA. He claims to have a better chance of victory because he has been interacting with voters for many years.
Deep Singh Chauhan said that in the last civil bodies’ election, he had won in ward number three by 54 votes on BJP ticket. This year, he would field his wife in the ward as this seat was declared reserved for a woman candidate. There are 8, 000 voters in this ward.
Councillor Ajay Singhal said that he had worked for providing street lights, ration cards to the needy, rations under public distribution system to card holders and pensions to widows in ward number 24. He would continue to do same in future. Shobhana, a voter of ward number -11 said that candidates used to visit her ward during election but forget voters after winning the election.
Election comes and goes but issues remain the same. The road of her locality has been dilapidated for the last many years but has not been repaired. Money is spent during elections but problems are not resolved. In his term, the ward councillor has not worked to improve sanitation, she complained.