5 Ludhiana villages boycott polls in protest over biogas units

Instead of resolving the issue, the local administration’s ineffective response has exacerbated the situation, the protesters alleged

At least five villages of Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency boycotted the election in protest over the establishment of gas units in their respective village. Of these, Akhara in Jagraon and Taprian in Samrala recorded zero turnout. Bhundhari village in Dakha, and Mushqabad and Khirnian villages of Samrala also sow very low voter turnouts

The villagers have been protesting for over the under-construction biogas factory. (HT Photo)

The district administration made several appeals to the protesters for not boycotting the polls, but to no avail as the villagers remained stoic on their stance. In Akhara, villagers staged a protest outside the polling booth against the establishment of a biogas factory on the Akhara- Bhamipura Road.

The villagers have been protesting for over the under-construction biogas factory. Instead of resolving the issue, the local administration’s ineffective response has exacerbated the situation, the protesters alleged.

The villagers of Akhara were particularly outraged by a video posted by the SDM a couple of days ago, in which he appealed to the villagers to not boycott the elections.

The 19-member anti-gas factory committee, the village panchayat and the Bhartiya Kisan Union Ekta Dakonda united the residents of ten nearby villages through a tractor-trailer march.

The boycott of votes in the surrounding villages of Bhundari, Ghungrali Rajputan, Kishangarh, Gazipur, Nawan Pind (Khanna tehsil) and Mushkabad (Samrala tehsil) posed a significant challenge to the district administration.

In Bhoondri village of Dakha, only 10 voters turned up, in Mushqabad of Samrala, only 17 out of 1,486 voters exercised their right to vote. In Khirnia village, a mere 15 out of 768 voters visited polling booths.