Delhi Village without Hospital, School to Boycott Polls

New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) A village with a population of over 10,000 has decided to boycott the Feb 7 assembly election in Delhi. The residents cited lack of basic amenities in their area as the reason behind the move.

"Leaders have been coming to us but we decided not to vote for any of them this time. It is high time now not to vote. They only give fake promises," said Panja Singh, 62, a resident of Jhangola village that falls under Narela assembly constituency in northwest Delhi.

Bharatiya Janata Party's Neeldaman Khatri won the 2013 assembly polls from the constituency.

"No hospital, no dispensaries, no post office, no high school...every time they assure that they will do something but nothing to avail so far," said Singh, who runs a small dispensary in the Sikh-majority village.

Another resident Gurmail Singh said: "A government school is located at least seven km away from the village. There are only two primary schools run by the NDMC (North Delhi Municipal Corporation)."

"The education status of the village is so low that none of the youngsters get government jobs. The basic occupation of the residents is farming and daily wage labour," said Gurmail Singh, who cleared his class 12 exams last year.

Paramjeet Singh, a farmer, said the women have been asked not to vote.

The village came up as a home for refugees who came to India from Pakistan during the partition. The land was originally allotted to 36 Sikh families from Pakistan.

The number of voters in the village is nearly 5,000 and the majority of them are youths