NUAPADA: For 40-year-old Santilal Sabar, disability is no barrier. After tasting defeat in 2007 polls, visually-impaired Sabar has entered the electoral battle again in the upcoming panchayat elections. On Friday, Sabar filed his nomination for the sarpanch post of Gondamer gram panchayat (GP) in Komna block.
A resident of Dabri village under the GP, Sabar had contested the panchayat elections in 2007 but could not win. However, the defeat could not deter him from working for the betterment of his GP. His concern over various unsolved problems of the panchayat made him enter the poll fray again.
Talking about his plans for Gondamer, Sabar said, "There are some major problems of the village. If I am elected as sarpanch, my first job would be get revenue status for the villages of the panchayat. We have been fighting for the status since the last many years."
This apart, water supply is a major issue here. Sabar said he also wants to facilitate smooth procurement of agricultural produce besides development of a few other infrastructure in the area.
In 2012, Sabar had started a social organisation 'Samartha' for upliftment of other visually impaired persons of the GP. For the last seven years, Sabar has been providing skill development training through Samartha to help make the visually challenged self-sufficient and live with dignity.
"I will also work towards developing skills of local youths who are graduates. By doing so, they will help me in carrying out further development activities in the panchayat," he said. Sabar's papers were received by revenue inspector of Tarbod and nomination officer Nalini Mishra.