No leader came to this Bihar village for 70 years to ask for votes, no one saw what MLAs or MLAs look like - Bihar village is missed by politicians no votes in 70 years

Updated: Fri, 24 Oct 2025 01:09 (IST) Phulwaria village located on Kaimur hills in Tilothu block of Rohtas district is still deprived of development. No leader has asked for votes here since 1952. Villagers walk 12 kilometers away to vote because they fear their names will be removed from the electoral roll. Neither government schemes reach here nor pure drinking water. The villagers are forced to drink fluoridated water and even after complaining to the authorities, no solution has been found. No leader came to ask for votes for 70 years. Sudhir Kumar Singh, Tilothu (Rohtas). Candidates started seeking votes in the Bihar assembly elections not only in the city but also in rural and hilly areas. Among these, Phulwariya is a village on Kaimur hills of Ramdihra Panchayat of Tilothu block, where no candidate from any party has come to ask for votes since the first general election in 1952. Remove ad, just read the news; Compulsion to vote after traveling 12 kilometers; The surprising thing is that many elders in this village have not even seen an MP or MLA. Voters here have to travel about 12 kilometers to Churesar village on foot via hill road to cast their vote. They fear that if they do not vote, their names may be removed from the electoral roll. In this village which comes under Ramdihara Panchayat of the block, no officer comes to inspect the government schemes or any scheme is selected for this village. Arrangements for drinking water could not be made; even arrangements for drinking water could not be made. As a result, they have to fetch water from a distance of two kilometers. Arrangements for pure drinking water could not be made by any means from the Department of Health Engineering or the Panchayat, as a result of which the people of this village, located in the plains on National Highway 119, eight kilometers away from the block headquarters, are forced to drink fluoride-rich water. Villagers say regarding this matter, the villagers including the headman have submitted several written complaints to the outgoing MLA with former minister Murari Prasad Gautam, district officer, block development officer and also to the health engineering department. Chief Anita Toppo says earlier in Rasoolpur village, three kilometers from here, drinking water was supplied from a water tank built by the health engineering department at a cost of Rs 1 crore. But when the pipe got damaged during the construction of NH 119 road, the water supply stopped. The amount for construction of the said pipeline is also included in the amount of road construction. But the pipe could not be repaired yet. There has also been no provision of pure drinking water in this ward under the Chief Minister’s ambitious tap water scheme. Water up to 80 feet deep is fluoridated and therefore the villagers bring drinking water from Rasulpur village or from the Son river. The water up to 80 feet deep in this village is rich in fluoride. Government hand pumps have been installed in some places. But it provides water that contains fluoride. All officials are aware of this. Regarding this matter, RTI activist Amardeep Kumar has also sought answers from the State Information Commission through Right to Information. But till now the problem remains the same. Shankar Kharwar said that drinking yesterday’s water causes many types of stomach related diseases along with gas. Teeth also get damaged. Joint-related diseases also occur. This water is harmful to humans as well as animals. Rohit Kharwar said that for the last five years, appeals from the public representatives have been made to the officials, but so far the problem has not been resolved. Today we still collect water from the rings that have been installed on the banks of the Sun River since yesterday. Senior officials were informed about providing drinking water to the people by installing a water purification plant for the drinking water system in this ward. As soon as any guidelines come, further action will be initiated. – Abu Wakar, Junior Engineer-PHED