Jaipur: Rajasthan goes to polls on Thursday and the sprits are not soaring. As the two main parties in fight a battle over state alcohol policy, the common man is still thirsting for something more essential.
Says Geeta Devi, a resident of Sanganer village, “Every time I get up, my keens and joints hurt. When I speak my neck becomes stiff. I am only 30 but look so old and it’s all because of contaminated water.
Geeta Devi is among thousands of residents of over 100 villages of Sanganer and nearby areas of Jaipur who are forced to survive on floride-contaminated water.
Young and elderly are all suffering joint pains, body aches and early ageing. But chances are their demand for meetha paani (sweet water) may not be heard this time either
Safe drinking water is scarce not just in Sanganer but in many parts of Rajasthan. Ironically in these elections, it’s not safe drinking water but alcohol that’s proving to be the high point of political debates.
The main opposition parties are charging Raje's morally corrupting the society by allowing thousands of new liquor shops.
Congress is asking people to vote against the free-flowing policies of the BJP
“Why are there four or five shops in each street? Also this government has opened new liquor shops near Schools and religious places,” says Congress candidate from Malviya Nagar, Rajiv Arora.
Most blame Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje directly for it. But she insists that all the excise revenue generated is being used for social welfare.
“Whatever money is coming is being used for the feeding hungry children and for their development,” she says.
So even as the battle of the tipple gets the leaders going, the residents of Sanganer say that they will vote for only for the candidate who offers them that life saving tonic: clean water.
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