Sadak and paani still the key issues in Khandwa

INDORE: Khandwa, the hometown of noted Bollywood singer Kishore Kumar, is crying for attention.
Having made strong inroads into the Malwa-Nimar region, the stakes for the BJP are quite high as residents are battling poor civic amenities. Voters in Khandwa constituency are unhappy over the bad condition of roads and poor water supply.
They alleged that there has been no improvement even as the member of Parliament and former state BJP president Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan hails from the region.The BJP and Congress are trading changes, each accusing the other of ignoring development of the region. For voters in this region, it is sadak and paani which are the key issues.
Sensing the mood of voters, the Congress has been quick to grab on to the issue of lack of development in the region. In all its meetings and interactions with the electorate, Congress leaders have been trying to impress on the negligence of Khandwa by the state government and BJP leaders.
BJP has failed the people as roads are in a bad shape and so are promises about construction of bypass, drainage system, general lack of employment and poor governance at the local level, the Congress leaders say.
"There is great level of dissatisfaction among the residents as BJP has failed to fulfil its promises," alleged City Congress president Indu Thakur.
He further said BJP leaders of the constituency, had promised to construct roads in Transport Nagar area, supplying Narmada water without non-metered connection, better drainage system. "None of these promises has been fulfilled, and people have not forgotten them," he said.
"The Khandwa water supply augmentation project, meant to augment daily water supply, has failed to take shape even after almost a decade after its sanction in 2007," they alleged.
They also raised questions over shifting of inter-city bus operations to the outskirts. "This has also made it difficult for the commuters to take buses for nearby cities," they said. BJP leaders, however, said it will take some time for proper implementation of road development and water supply-related projects.
"Condition of internal roads have improved during BJP's tenure. We are working on development of bypass and ring road for smooth vehicular movement," said BJP city president Harish Kotwale. He said that it will take some time for us to complete pending projects such as provision of Narmada connections and construction of roads. Khandwa MLA Devendra Verma said that power supply and healthcare facilities have improved during his tenure.
A 100-bed hospital as well as two medical institutions, including a nursing college and a medical college, have been set up in Khandwa during the BJP rule.
"We have focused on improving healthcare, medical education and power supply. Other issues are also on our priority list and will be addressed soon," he said. BJP has been in power in Khandwa since 1990, and the sitting MLA Devendra Verma has won the seat for the past two terms.