MLA’s ‘Conspiracy’ claim masks BJP supporters’ anger:Villagers furious after 80 complaints failed to get 3-km road built

Two days ago, a video from Bangred village in Neemuch district’s Jawad assembly constituency went viral on social media, showing villagers surrounding former minister and BJP MLA Omprakash Saklecha and demanding a road. Angry residents accused him of breaking promises, leading to a heated exchange, while the MLA termed the incident a political conspiracy. However, when Bhaskar spoke to villagers on the ground, it found that the episode reflected public anger rather than a political conspiracy. What is the anger about? And what is the villagers’ reaction now to being called a political conspiracy? Read in this report As soon as one enters Bangred village, the ‘I Love Bangred’ structure built on the school wall becomes visible. However, the situation inside the village looks different from this picture. Villagers Tulsiram and Ghisalal state that the problem of roads, drinking water, and drains in the village has persisted for a long time. Dirty water from homes flows directly onto the paths, causing mud and foul smell to spread. During the rain, the situation worsens. Inside the village, uneven paths and accumulated dirt in them are clearly visible. Due to the lack of drains, the roads themselves have become the means for dirty water drainage. Drinking water arrives every three days Elderly Banshilal, sitting near the temple, says that the village also faces a severe drinking water crisis. Water is supplied at intervals of three days. Water used to reach through a pipeline from the village’s old well, but that system is also shut down due to the well being damaged. Villagers claim that funds were sanctioned for the repair of the well, but the work was not done. The situation is such that many women have to go two kilometers away from the fields to fetch water. Road demand sparks heated exchange To provide healthcare facilities to Bangred village’s nearly 5,000 residents, a new sub-health center, Ayushman Arogya Mandir, was built outside the village. The dispute began on 22 June when villagers questioned BJP MLA Omprakash Saklecha during its inauguration, asking how they would reach the facility as the road leading to it remains unpaved and turns muddy during the rainy season. Villagers argued that the hospital would be of little use without a proper road. The discussion soon escalated into a heated debate. Although the MLA left after the event, a video of the incident later went viral on social media. Why is this road so important after all? Youths present around the health center said that the road problem is not limited to the hospital. There are more than 200 houses in the Kheda and Nayi Abadi areas of the village, for whom this is the main road. Villager Shyam Singh says that about 30 children go to school via this route. During the rainy season, the road becomes so bad that even walking on foot becomes difficult. During the 2023 assembly elections, the MLA had assured road construction, but the work has not started yet.
They say that if someone’s health deteriorates at night, taking the patient to the hospital becomes a big challenge. Even ambulances cannot come inside. Long list of complaints, yet no solution Villagers Vikas and Shravan say that efforts have been made for years for road construction. According to them, villagers have registered complaints more than 80 times on the CM Helpline, but the problem has not been resolved. They say that about 20 memorandums have been given to the Collector, MLA, SDM, and Tehsildar, among other officers. Every time an assurance was received, but the road was not built. Protesters are being labeled as Congressmen After the incident, the political atmosphere in the village is also heated. Some youths who raised the demand for a road allege that they are being defamed by being called Congress supporters. Vikas and Shravan say that they have been BJP workers and have also worked for the party in elections. Their question is, if they raised the demand for a road, why are they being given a political color? Villagers say that the promise to build the road was made during the elections, and now they are just reminding them of that promise. Villagers allege that officials are not shown the ground reality. Before inspection, sand is spread on the road, and that is shown to the officials as the road. Officials return from the main square instead of going inside the village to see the situation. This is why the road appears to be built on paper, while the ground reality is different. Collector did not respond An attempt was made to contact Neemuch Collector Himanshu Chandra regarding CM Helpline complaints and villagers’ allegations, but he did not receive the call. No response was received to the questions sent on WhatsApp either. MLA said – Media presented a wrong picture MLA Omprakash Saklecha said that the program lasted for about 40 minutes and was completed successfully. According to him, after the program, some people raised the issue of the road, to which he said that an announcement would be made at an appropriate time. Saklecha claims that the protesters came in a pre-planned manner and seemed ready for a debate. There could be a political conspiracy. He said that there was no pushing or shoving, and some sections of the media exaggerated the incident. He said that good work has been done in the Jawad region in the fields of health and solar energy. Some problems are at the Panchayat level, where the MLA can only cooperate. However, he did not comment on the number of CM Helpline complaints and memorandums.