No 'band baaja baaraat' in this Bengal village; residents call poll boycott

With the panchayat polls approaching, residents of Vidyavihar village have warned of a poll boycott if roads, drinking water and street lights are not provided. The locals say that if the area is not developed quickly, no one will go to vote in the panchayat polls.

Durgapur (West Bengal):Apart from facing poor civic amenities, bad roads, drinking water shortage, the residents of Vidyavihar at Kanksa in West Bengal are more worried about battling a bizarre challenge. The youths of this area are finding it difficult to find brides. This village has not witnessed any 'Band, Baaja,Baaraat'(wedding band, horns, revelry) for a long time now.

Seventy years after independence, Vidyavihar, a village of 30 families, is yet to get electricity supply. In addition to this, acute water shortage and bad roads are scaring away potential brides. Women turn down marriage proposals from young men of the village because marriage would mean a life of misery and extreme hardships as there is no power and water is scarce.

The popular notion in the area is that a life in Vidyavihar is a life filled with hardships for any woman who marries one of its residents. The bad roads in the village are giving a tough time to people who are sick as they have to be carried by others on their shoulders to the nearest medical facility. No vehicle reaches this village. Poor road conditions in the village have made it difficult for the children to go to school.

With the panchayat polls approaching, residents have warned of a poll boycott if roads, drinking water, and street lights are not provided. The locals say that if the area is not developed quickly, no one will go to vote in the panchayat polls. Vidyavihar Gram Panchayat member Swapan Sutradhar said "complaints of the locals have been heard and arrangements will also be made as to how the road can be built in the area in the shortest possible time."

Satu Bagdi, a villager said," We have been like this for 35 years. There are two marriageable boys in my house. But because there is no road in the village, no one is ready to get their daughters married to them. Since the boys are not getting married, they are moving out of the village to settle at other places."

Another resident of the village, Sunil Bagdi said, "No one wants to give girls to the boys of this village. What should we do? Talking about the upcoming panchayat polls, he said, "my family will not vote for anyone this time."