Voter holds key

Making themselves heard loud over the poll din raised by the contesting candidates of various hues are voters of the Anandpur Sahib constituency with an issue crucial to them and their area. They are not wholly impressed by the electoral promises screamed out by the prospective LS representatives in rally after rally. Going by the poor delivery record, they are rightly looking askance at the promises that can be largely classified, at best, as mere rhetoric or taking potshots at rivals and, at worst, as wooing the electorate with appeals reeking of communal polarisation. 

Anandpur Sahib people are a worried lot. The worry is valid. They are sitting on a tinderbox: the ravaging of sand and gravel in the Sutlej riverbed through rampant illegal mining. Wrinkling their nose in disgust, it is no secret to them that this clandestine activity that has brought the region to the brink of an ecological disaster has had the unabated patronage of the powers that be, across the political spectrum. Staring at an irreversible loss of natural resources, including green cover and river water, poll time is the opportune moment for them to send the message across to the future leaders that there is nothing more important to them than a halt to this open plunder. For, as dust-exuding tippers and trucks carry sand and crushed stones, damaging the roads in the process, they only spell doom for their constituency, a step into dark prospects for their children. Comprising mainly the Kandi area, tackling the issue of lack of water is a poll plank that would gladden the hearts of the voters of this constituency in the Shivalik foothills.

It is indeed a sign of a welcome change if an informed and concerned citizen looks for an MP who is willing to honestly work for the development of the area in the long term and not just fulfils vested interests. No candidate can afford to overlook such a voter's inclination. And, in Anandpur Sahib, his fight will not end by winning alone. The ensuing battle to fight the demonic illegal miners promises to be an uphill one, though not insurmountable.