The "development report card" will play an important role in the upcoming Bawana Assembly bypolls. From sanitation to transport connectivity, villagers in the constituency are victim of "neglect" and have become a pawn in the power game of local leaders.
The Pioneer visited the Assembly segment to get the hang of issues that could dominate the all important by-election as ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leaving no stone unturned to retain the seat after the reverse in Rajauri Garden assembly by-poll. Jagan Singh (60), a resident of Bawana said, "We are Modi supporters but in our constituency, the face value will not work. We are witnessing how Bawana is being deprived of basic facilities, hospitals during emergency, colleges for our children and metro connectivity."
Preparations for Bawana by-election are in full swing as it will be held on August 23. Candidates of the Congress and the AAP have filed their nominations. BJP candidate Ved Prakash who had won this seat on the AAP ticket but resigned later, will file his nomination papers on Saturday.
Majority of Bawana residents are annoyed with ved Prakash as he switched sides during civic polls that were held in April this year.
Shoppers in Ishwar Nagar, near NDPl colony said that civic issues in this part of the city are major casualty. "BJP candidate Ved Prakash has stopped focusing on the development issues. The creation and beautifications of parks have been halted," said an agitated shop owner Jagdish.
Another shop owner, Narender Kumar said that due to uneven roads, water stagnation problem occurs during rainy season. "local leaders are concerned only with those roads that lead to their houses," he added while explaining how rain water accumulates near his shop and house whenever it rains.
Bawana has also become a major battle ground for the politicians as a major portion of land has now become the part of land pooling scheme of the Centre.
"It has become an everyday struggle for the people to reach their homes and workplace due to poor transport connectivity. There is no metro facility in pour area. People who come from different places for work in industries face difficulties," said Vinod.
Recalling the days of Shiela Dixit Government, Jagan Singh said that during the Congress tenure, various project were lined up for Bawana's development. But now people are fighting for small issues like garbage mounds in colonies," said Singh.