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19 villages in Sirsa to boycott polls

Residents of 19 villages in the Darbha Kalan assembly constituency of Haryana's Sirsa district have decided to boycott the Lok Sabha poll.

This is in protest to the alleged 'indifference' of the government towards their problems caused by water-logging.

Twentyfive villages of the constituency have been water-logged. About 25,000 acres, including residential areas, are under water with the level varing from one foot to three feet.

According to Kisan Mazdoor Ekta Samiti president Ram Kumar Neol, the problem has been persistent since 1991. During the last two years it became quite acute, affecting more and more villages. The Samiti has been formed with the single objective of prevailing upon the government to take effective measures against it.

The district administration had installed two pumps to drain out water. But these hardly made any difference.

On many farms, Samiti members say, the water is knee-deep. The entire land has become useless as no crops can be sown there.

The area mostly produces cotton, wheat, gram and oilseeds, and has nearly 300,000 farmers dependant on it.

UNI

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