'Want Our Vote, Drink This Water': Haryana Village Battling Dirty Water Supply Sets Challenge For Poll Candidates

Village residents have alleged that they are forced to buy drinking water as the area has been supplied with dirty and smelly water for over a decade.

Ahead of the upcoming Haryana elections, voters in Samaspur village of Haryana's Charkhi Dadri constituency have posed a unique challenge for candidates of all political parties seeking their votes. The challenge is to drink a glass of the water currently being supplied to their village. 

Village residents have alleged that they are forced to buy drinking water as the area has been supplied with dirty and smelly water for over a decade. They have described the water as unfit for consumption by not just humans but even animals, PTI reported.

Voters' Other Concerns

Election campaigners in Haryana are grappling with voter concerns centred on civic and agricultural issues. Voters in Gurugram, for example, have confronted poll candidates about traffic woes, asking why traffic in the 'Millennium City' is always at a standstill. Promoted as the 'Singapore of India' and one of Asia’s largest IT and corporate hubs, Gurugram may provide jobs to people from all over the country, but its civic infrastructure is lagging. Residents struggle with severe waterlogging, damaged roads, and long traffic jams during heavy rains. As the election approaches, they are demanding that candidates offer real solutions to these problems.

Protest posters with messages like “No road, no vote", “Abki bar, no guddha sarkar", “Stuck in traffic, can’t vote", and “Why Gurgaon crawls” were displayed by voters when candidates came asking for support.

According to The Times of India (TOI), on Monday and Tuesday, BJP candidates in Ratia and Hisar assembly constituencies faced public dissatisfaction too. Former MP and BJP candidate from Ratia, Sunita Duggal, encountered protests from farm activists on Tuesday. She was chased by members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Kheti Bachao), and had to "acknowledge the legitimacy" of the farmers' protests at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders, the report said.

BJP candidate Dr Kamal Gupta was targeted during a public meeting at Badwali Dhani village in Hisar on Monday night, where a slipper was thrown at him. Despite being hit, Gupta continued his speech, TOI reported. 

Elections to Haryana’s 90-seat assembly are scheduled for October 5, with vote counting on October 8.