DEOGARH: Absence of mobile network has turned out to be a major issue for residents of five gram panchayats (GPs) in Deogarh's Tileibeni block ahead of the rural polls. Reeling under an 'information blockade' of sorts due to lack of cellular connectivity, villagers of Dimirikuda, Gandam, Jaragogua, Parposi and Jharmunda GPs have decided to refrain from participating in the upcoming panchayat elections.
On the first two days of nomination filing on Monday and Tuesday, not a single person from the five GPs filed papers for any post. Such is the frustration among villagers that public address system-mounted vehicles are moving across the four panchayats urging people to boycott the polls.
The five GPs have a population of 13,516 of which 9,806 are registered voters including 2,419 in Dimirikuda, 1,735 in Gandam, 2,854 in Jaragogua, 1,735 in Parposi and 1,100 in Jharmunda. Villagers complained that lack of mobile connectivity has deprived them from availing timely healthcare.
Digambar Thakur, a local, said, "To contact 108 ambulance service during medical emergencies, we have to cover a distance of over 15 km from the village to get mobile signal. Though we villagers have approached the administration for a mobile tower several times in the past, all our pleas have fallen on deaf ears."
Students are the worst sufferers. During the COVID-19 crisis, they are not able to attend online classes. Many students have to walk up to 10-12 km to get mobile signal. "From studies, examinations to job applications, everything is online now. Today, internet is the gateway to information. But look at the state of backwardness we are living in," rued Thakur.
Another villager said the local MLA and MP have also been apprised of the problem but to no avail. "Our only demand is mobile connectivity. People of the four GPs will neither contest in any posts including ward member, sarpanch, Samiti Sabhya and Zilla Parishad, nor go to the polling booth to vote if the demand is not met," he added.
On Tuesday, several representatives of the district administration held discussion with the protesting villagers but the latter refused to budge. Block development officer (BDO) of Tilebani Krushna Chandra Dalpati said, "We are trying to persuade the villagers of the four GPs to refrain from boycotting the elections."