Neglected Badkhal lake reflects state of affairs

Named after the famous Badkhal lake of the village by the same name, this constituency took birth in 2009. Two MLAs have represented this seat since it was formed but woes of the residents of this segment are far from over.

With complaints of inadequate water supply, residents of both rural and urban pockets seem to be dissatisfied with the overall progress in the last 10 years. While the Congress candidate won from here in 2009, the BJP emerged victorious in 2014. Though polls are just three months away, the zest among voters appears to be missing as majority of them claim that it may be an unchallenged contest after the clean sweep by the BJP in the recently held Lok Sabha poll.

“I don’t see any major challenge to the BJP, which is likely to repeat its sitting MLA Seema Trikha,’’ says Johar Khan (70) from Badkhal village. He said that though he was unhappy with the performance of the party, he would still like to go with it in view of the leadership of PM Narendra Modi.

Khan lamented that the Badkhal lake, which once provided bread and butter to hundreds of families and was a major tourist attraction, has been lying dried up since 2000. A senior consultant with Faridabad Smart City Limited, NK Kataria, however, claimed that the work on the treatment and restoration of the lake bed was likely to start in a couple of months.

Tilak Bidhuri, a retired official from Ankhir village, also expressed his unhappiness with the authorities. Expressing dissatisfaction over the poor water supply and sewerage, he alleged that poor development might make many residents like him go in for NOTA.

Dhanpal, another resident of the village, said unemployment was the main problem while Ashok Kumar Jain of Sainik Colony asserted that there was acute shortage of drinking water and people were forced to buy water from private tankers.

Despite the overall disenchantment with the government, the ruling party appears to have an advantage at this stage because of a weak Opposition, said Ravinder Kumar of Sector-21B. The Smart city project is also yet to take off, he added.

Sitting MLA: Seema Trikha (BJP)

Likely contenders: Vijay Pratap (Cong), Dharambir Bhadana (AAP) 

Total voters 2,67,423 

Males 1,46,311, Females   1,21,112 

Legislatorspeak 

"A huge amount has been spent on developmental works in five years. Besides having 75 per cent of the constituency included in the Faridabad smart city project, hundreds of crores have been spent on development of roads, sewerage, water supply and parks." — Seema Trikha, BJP

Oppositionspeak  

"Badkhal remains very poor in matter of development as residents are crying for basic amenities like water, sewerage and cleanliness. The condition of Badkhal lake belies government’s tall claims." —  Dharambir Bhadana, AAP