Tehri: As the Lok Sabha polls near, ETV Bharat reached out to villagers in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal Parliamentary Constituency, in order to know their grievances.
Our team first reached the Koti Colony, from where the Pratapnagar Tehsil is one gruelling boat ride away. The tehsil contains over 100 villages which are completely cut off from the rest of the constituency.
The bridge was approved in 2006 If residents of these villages ever have to get to the district headquarter of Tehri, their only option of commute is the boat service, which functions from 10 am to 5 pm in three batches.
On Sundays though, the boat service remains shut, rendering the villagers helpless. If someone wishes to travel to Tehri, one has to make an 85-kilometre journey through the peepal dali bridge.
To enhance connectivity, the 440 metre-long Dobra-Chanti bridge was approved in 2006, but is yet to see the light of the day. If completed, the bridge would reduce the distance between Pratanagar and Tehri to a mere 22 kilometres.
Narrating his plight, a resident of Pratapnagar said, "During election time, politicians reach faraway places where even monkeys are not found, to ask for votes. Once elections are done, they disappear from the scene for the next five years."
Another local said that they are constantly risking their lives, as they could easily be swept away if the weather worsens while they are on the boats.
This time around the BJP has nominated sitting MP Rajyalakshmi Shah from the constituency, who will be contesting against Uttarakhand Congress President Pritam Singh.
All five Lok Sabha seats of Uttarakhand will witness polling during the first phase on April 11.
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