Two votes each, but same tale of woe

VOTING IN TWO LOK SABHA SEATS

Subhro Maitra TNN
Gobindapur: The tiny hamlet of Gobindapur sits practically on the border of Bengal and Bihar. A bone-jarring 60-km ride from Malda, and then a 3-km walk along dusty tracts will bring you to this nondescript village, which like most remote settlements in this country, lacks every basic facility. Yet, the 1,150-odd villagers here enjoy a unique distinction. On Thursday, they will queue up twice to cast their votes, once for Bengal and then again for Bihar. There is no hide and seek about this. Rather, all of them have valid election photo identity cards (EPIC) issued by both states. “We have two MPs, two MLAs, even two panchayat members, and naturally two votes,” says septuagenarian Paresh Yadav with glee. In the narrow bylanes, posters of North Malda candidates Mausam Noor and Sailen Sarkar jostle for space with those of Katihar nominees Tarique Anwar and Nikhil Choudhuri. The impoverished men and women, mostly Muslims, have already made up their mind on who to vote for in which state. Two polling stations have been set up — one at Chhabilaltola Primary School for the Bengal vote and another at Baharsal Primary School for the Bihar vote. On Thursday, election officials of both Bihar and Bengal will occupy the respective polling centres while police from both the states will look after law and order. What if the presiding officer in the second booth bars them from casting the second vote? “No question,” says gram panchayat member Abdur Rahaman, “This is the practice here. We are used to this.” Right since Independence, Gobindapur has been a point of dispute between Bengal and Bihar. With the river Fulohar changing its course, the land records of the village are with Amdabad, Bihar, while law and order is with Ratua police station, Bengal. The villagers, however, find little to cheer about in this arrangement. The list of woes is endless. “We are basically no man’s child. The nearest health centre is 5 km away, the high school 3 km away and there’s neither road nor transport. Our plight is ignored by both states,” says Paresh Yadav. “We have to submit our land tax at Katihar, but depend on West Bengal for ration card, electricity or any basic amenities. We have submitted a number of deputations to leaders on both sides to settle our land dispute, but to no avail,” points out Rahman. “My wife Pakija Khatun got the job of an ICDS worker in Amdabad, but after serving one year her services were terminated and she was labelled a non-Bihari,” says Najrul Islam. Political workers from both states concede that Gobindapur gets a raw deal. “Bihar did nothing to develop the roads despite several reminders,” admits Md Majibar Ali, a member of Durgapur panchayat of Bihar. “Bengal has not taken any initiative to survey land and settle the issue of the citizenship with Bihar,” accepts Ratua Congress leader and former Malda Zilla Parishad member Soumitra Roy. But, it’s election time and the tale of neglect will be buried for a day in the excitement of casting two votes. For, two sets of candidates have approached them with promises.