Dalit voters- 'Guarantee safe housing and toilets, get votes'

Candidates who go to Musahar Basti in Siraha's Golbazar Municipality-10, Dhoviyajhar, get the same answer from the voters there, "Guarantee safe accommodation, take the vote."

The candidate who reached Musaharbasti asking for votes for the local level election to be held on May 13 has been confused for a while after hearing this answer from the local voters. There is a problem of safe shelter and toilets in the settlement of 40 households located on the east bank of Ghurmi Khola, five kilometers north of Choharwa in Golbazar Municipality of Siraha along the East-West Highway.

On the one hand, due to lack of private land, the entire settlement is living on public land, while locals say that most of the houses still have toilet problems. The voters of the slum, who have been making a living by selling daily wages and firewood, have been saying that they will vote only for the candidate who has expressed commitment to build safe houses and toilets in the slum. Phulkumari Sada, a local who has been living in a hut in Fusu's hut due to financial constraints, said that she has decided to vote only for the candidate who guarantees safe housing and toilets.

"We have always been raising a family by earning wages," he said. Jhula Saday, a 50-year-old local, also said that they would only vote for the candidate who would build houses and toilets. "Over the years, we have voted for the Hon'ble Minister, but after winning, the leaders will not come to understand their problems again," he said.

"We have won many elections by voting for many leaders, but our situation has not improved," he said. Voters who are eager to cast their ballots in the local elections, which are about to take place after five years, are looking for safe accommodation and toilets in the current election, even if they have already voted for anyone.

According to the locals, the candidates who come to the polling booths in the small huts made of mud walls and thatched roofs have expressed their commitment to address the demand after their election. "We need a good house and toilet to block the sun and water. Various candidates are vowing to vote for the candidate who guarantees it," said Taradevi Sada, a local resident. I will give. ”

Rambatti, a local resident, said that it was not possible to build a good house due to lack of funds. ? We will only vote for the candidate who has made a faithful commitment to build our house and toilet. ” In the previous elections, the leaders used to win by distributing money and buying votes, but now we will not allow this to happen. For this, we have become one, the locals say.

The land has not been registered in the name of anyone in the Musahar settlement who has been living on public land for years. There are four lakh 14 thousand 166 voters in Siraha which has 17 local levels including eight municipalities and 9 village municipalities. According to the District Election Office, Siraha, 219 polling stations have been fixed in the district.