Pitthoragarh, May 19
Villagers of Kumaon, disappointed with their elected representatives for failure to provide them water, roads and electricity, boycotted the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections. The EVMs installed in their polling booths did not register a single vote.

The villagers of Sumgarh in Bageshwar district were disappointed with the construction of a tunnel in their village by a hydro-electric company. They say the company had not kept its promise to provide handsome compensation for the land acquired and jobs to local youths.

“When the company began work, it promised us not only good compensation for our land but jobs as well,” said Surendra Singh Koranga, organiser of the Sangharsh Samiti, Banse. “But when 80 per cent of work on the tunnel was completed and our water sources had run dry, neither the company nor any government official came to hold talks with us,” said Koranga. Hence, the villagers decided to boycott the elections.

All 442 voters of Banse Tok village boycott the elections.

But the tale of Ganura village in backward Belpatti of the Gangolihat assembly segment in the Almora parliamentary constituency is different.

The 712 voters there also did not cast their vote. “Our main demand is a 15-km-long motor road from Marak Nali to Ganura in the absence of which our women die during pregnancy.

“Our young one do not get good education as no teacher wants to come to the school here which has been roofless from the last 20 years,” said Thakur Singh Bhandari, president, Sangharsh Samiti.

“The other problem in Ganura is acute shortage of drinking water. Natural water sources in the villages become dry during summers, forcing the women to travel up to 4 km to fetch water. “We wants a lift scheme from Saryu river to Gabtola which is the only solution to the water problem in Ganura, Anargaon,Ghuna, Chamlekh,Bantola and Sankhola villages,” he said.

The villagers have been moving pillar to post to get their demands met but in vain.

It is the same story in Haldu village in the Pithoragarh assembly segment. The village is situated on the Indo-Nepal border, 8 km from the main road. “All 250 families of Haldu village boycotted the polls,” said Ganesh Ram, Gram Pradhan. Haldu is a fertile village, rich in groundnut, paddy and maize but has turned barren with most villagers having left the village due to its poor accessibility.

“After 60 years of Independence, we are without road and are forced to drink the untreated water of the Kali river as there is no drinking water scheme for our village,” said Ganesh Ram.

Demand for motorable roads and drinking water remained the main issues during these Lok Sabha elections. The 804 voters of Jakh Mainali village in the Dwarahat assembly segment boycotted the polls for want of a 7-km stretch of motorable road from Binta to Jakh while villagers of Chattgula Basera in the same segment returned the EVMs empty as their drinking water shortage problem has not been addressed by successive representatives.

All 510 voters of Chattgula and 804 of Jakh Mailani did not cast their ballot. In Almora district alone, six EVMs were returned empty as voters of Baburia Nail and Katghera in Bhasiaghana block also boycotted the polls, demanding electricity, water and road, informed Dr Dewan Nagrkoti, a social worker from Almora. Other villagers that boycotted the polls were Bungli in Gangolihat , Bamangoun and Mathiabanz in Champawat and Kanari Pabhai of Pithoragarh.

— The writer is a freelance journalist

Dehradun, May 19
Street food high on taste but low on quality may be a potential agent for carrying the Hepatitis B and C virus. The liver debilitating disease has had health experts worried. Those who desist buying food from stalls are not necessarily immune to the disease. Microorganisms causing the disease may be transmitted person to person due to poor hygiene and sanitation practices.

On World Hepatitis Day today, the state health authorities launched an awareness programme that seeks to monitor blood transfusion at each stage and encourage vaccination. The prevalence of the disease is not high in Uttarakhand, the cases are usually detected during blood transfusion or among patients with severe case of jaundice.

“The fact remains that we have poor sanitation. The state sees a jump in the number of patients suffering from water-borne diseases every monsoon season. As drainage and water supply pipes continue to be laid one above the other, in case of a a pipe burst, the water gets contaminated,” said Dr KC Pant, Doon Hospital.

Hepatitis implies injury to liver characterised by presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue. Hepatitis is acute when it lasts less than six months. Hepatitis A is most commonly transmitted by the faecal-oral route.

Hepatitis A is a highly infectious disease that is spread through contaminated food and water (including ice cubes). “The major suspect is food, snacks and cane juice sold in the open. The machine used for crushing the cane poses a serious risk to health.

And the water used by corner shops selling edibles attracts hordes of daily wagers. “Street food is one of the main sources of bacterial and virus infections. A patient may experience cramps in the stomach, may vomit and run fever. The symptoms if not treated may lead to jaundice and if left untreated again can give rise to Hepatitis A,” said Dr PK Agarwal, Astha Nursing Home.

Health experts say Hepatitis B is a disease more lethal than AIDS. It can cause life-long infection and even cirrhosis of the liver. It is spread the same way as the HIV virus-- infected blood or fluids, sexual contact, transfusion or a cut in the skin. “Hepatitis B may spread mainly through contaminated blood. It is mandatory for blood banks to screen blood donors.

The spread of HBV can be prevented by use of sterilised needles and syringes. HBV causes jaundice, liver enlargement and other systemic failures. For the fashion conscious, tattooing can be risky business. “ Even while piercing ears, an infection at the time can lead to hepatitis,” warned Dr Alok Teotia, Doon Hospital.

Dehradun, May 19
There is simmering resentment in the Dehradun Rural Development (DRDA) Employees Union and the members are threatening to resume their stir as soon the model code of conduct ends on May 24.

The threatening comes after the alleged unresponsive attitude of the state government to their demands, including assimilation of the entire cadre in the Line department, and pension and gratuity facilities as per the terms and references of the state government.

“DRDA employees have been appointed for implementation of central government projects, for which a separate cadre was created in 1982. Under normal procedure, as soon as the new state of Uttarakhand was created, we should have been assimilated but on one pretext or the other the state has been evading the issue,” said Rajender Bisht, state president of DRDA.

He said the employees had organised a strike between November 21 and December 17 at the DRDA premises, “But after getting assurance from the government that our demands will be met, we had withdrawn the stir,” he said.

Further, government officials had even taken a tour of the states of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan in January to see the functioning of DRDA departments in these states.

“The exercise was initiated by the government soon after we called off our strike, but the government did not come to any decision regarding our demands,” said Nand Kishore Tripathi, general secretary of the body.

There are as many as 234 employees under DRDA with more than 30 years of service; some have even retired but none of them are getting any pensions or other facilities, which is demoralising the cadre.

“Government officials are now saying that once the Uttar Pradesh government takes a decision regarding assimilation of DRDA employees, a similar exercise will also be undertaken here. We fail to understand the logic behind such a decision even after the creation of a separate state,” said Bisht.