Dehradun : Efficient administration, dedicated government, scream posters and banners here in the capital of Uttarakhand, with the life size figure of chief minister B C Khanduri, waving his hand. The BJP is banking on the hope that having changed the chief minister just months before the vidhan sabha elections, due in February next year, the party will repeat its government in the state.
As of now the image of the state government is that if it is dedicated to anything, it is money no matter how it comes and definitely not to developmental works, despite the spate of foundations stones that have been laid during the past month with the elections in mind.
And as far as efficiency is concerned, the non-availability of ration cards for over five months in the state capital narrates the true story. How can any government, or for that matter any of its department, substantiate that ration cards could not be printed in five months. What can that government achieve, which cannot even print the required number of ration cards in five months, is the poser that people are asking.
To make matters worse, the district supply officer at Dehra Dun got just 1800 ration cards when the requirement was running in thousands. One fails to understand the logic of the government in getting just a handful of ration cards printed, that too in five months, when thousands of families, many of them from BPL and antodaya categories, are daily running from pillar to post.
That is why also there is also a lot of pessimism over the large number of foundation stones that have been laid during the last month to send the message that the government is all out for development of the state. “A government which cannot get a few thousand cards printed in a matter of days is not capable of doing any developmentâ€, is the canard doing the rounds.
In fact there is no mincing of words when people accuse the BJP of the gradual decline and slide of Uttarakhand over the couple of years. Development has taken a back seat, but pertinent issues relating to the masses, like those of drinking water, road connectivity, schools, increasing horticulture and agriculture production, diversification from traditional crops to boost the economy, electrification and providing education nearer the villages do not figure anywhere in the planning process.
The migration from villages to townships in search of jobs and a living, villages bearing a deserted look as families leave for greener pastures, hundreds of acres of fertile land being left barren as there is no male population in the villages to till the soil and the youth taking to crime or drugs and alcohol is what is happening in the villages of Uttarakhand today, courtesy the efficient administration and dedicated BJP government.
A journalist with over 40 years of experience, Jagdish Bhatt was Editor, Hill Post (Uttarakhand).
Jagdish had worked with India’s leading English dailies, which include Times of India, Indian Express, Pioneer and several other reputed publications. A highly acclaimed journalist, he was a recipient of many awards
Jagdish Bhatt, aged 72, breathed his last on 28th August 2021 at his Dehradun residence.
