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UP Elections 2017: Suar-Tanda | Western state's most successful failure

UP govt has showered the constituency with funds but people still await basic facilities

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The maternity hospital at Tanda, which was inaugurated in December is yet to be functional
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With many madrassas but few schools, just two poorly equipped hospitals and a spurt of investment in the last six months that has led to some cosmetic improvement, the twin towns of Suar and Tanda, banded together as one assembly constituency, bring to mind the oft-used term 'vote bank'.

"Authorities just want Muslims to remain constituencies. All parties built madrassas but no schools," said a teacher at a primary school, summing up the resentment of the people at the skewed development of the Muslim majority area.

The Suar-Tanda constituency in western Uttar Pradesh's Rampur district has almost every advantage to propel growth. There is political stability – BSP's Kazim Ali Khan has been MLA for four terms – communal harmony and state government largesse with Rs.156 crore being released in just six months.

The unusual generosity to the constituency which has roughly 70 percent Muslims is thanks to senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan, who is also urban development minister. His son Abdullah Azim is making his political debut against the seasoned Kazim Ali alias Nawed Mian, the titular Nawab of Rampur district.

Locals point to the legendary rivalry between Azam Khan and the Nawabs for the state's coffers being opened up to lay out roads and drains.

Though all of this puts Suar-Tanda ahead of constituencies in the neighbourhood and indeed all of Uttar Pradesh, the area also stands apart for faring remarkably poorly in all socio-economic indicators. The recent spurt in infrastructural activity may not be able to compensate for the decades of sustained neglect.

The flip side

In the name of education and health facilities, Suar and Tanda, which have a population of around two lakh people, have just two government schools (till Class 10), two inter-colleges and two hospitals.

The Tanda hospital, which caters to a population of over 1.2 lakh, has six doctors. Except for a paediatrician, there are no specialists, and no X-ray or ultrasound facilities either.

Hundreds of pregnant women have died because there are no facilities for safe deliveries. In 2009-10, for instance, the chief medical officer's report reveals that 498 pregnant women died in Tanda over a period of six years. Azam Khan inaugurated a new 50-bed maternity hospital in December but it is yet to become functional.

Even now, pregnant women have to travel about 30 kilometres to reach Moradabad or Rampur for something as simple as an ultrasound. Till three months ago, the distance could only be covered through the dangerously cratered Tanda-Rampur road – on which is the Sarisma Chauraha, one busiest railway crossings in the state. The road has been remade to a great extent.

When this reporter visited the Tanda hospital, there was no electricity in the decrepit building which looked more like a warehouse. The labour room was packed with construction material, the emergency ward was locked due to the same reason and the two ICUs were being used as labour rooms.

Amongst those waiting for attention was the heavily pregnant Zainab Fatima. The 26-year-old, whose husband works as a construction labourer in Rampur city, said she'd seen elections come and go but the promised medical facilities were still invisible.

"Politicians don't do anything for us. They only make promises. Sometimes they claim credit for not letting riots breakout here as they did in other parts of western UP. Politicians have been using and misusing us as vote banks."

The credit for maintaining communal harmony in this Muslim dominated town, she said, was due to the locals and not politicians.

Also in queue was a worried Rafiq Ahmad with his 10-year-old son who had been bitten by a dog. Last month, his nephew was bitten and had to go to Rampur because there was injection available in Tanda.

The hospital, a staffer told DNA, had not received any anti-rabies injections for more than a month. At least 10-15 people with dog bites come to the hospital every day.

A doctor added that the health parameters were extremely poor due to unhygienic conditions and the absence of proper health facilities. "Almost everybody in Tanda has some skin infection. Every family has people with stomach worms, skin diseases and some water-borne disease."

The hospital in Suar mirrored the desperation of the one in Tanda.

Education and employment

The abysmal literacy rate of 45.95 percent, much lower than the state's 67.68 percent, underscores the constituency's backwardness.

The constituency has around 30 madrassas, which impart general education too but only till Class 5.

"They don't allow these madrassas to teach conventional subjects because they want us to remain uneducated," said a teacher.

Suar-Tanda lags behind in terms of employment too. Most people are either engaged in farming, run small shops or work as carpenters and labourers in nearby towns.

According to the 2011 census, the two towns have a working population of just 9,671. Of course, the population has increased manifold since but there are hardly any new job avenues.

Despite getting nothing but empty promises from politicians, the locals came out in large numbers to vote on Wednesday in the second phase of polling. The hope that things will improve at the ground level persists.

"Azam Khan made roads here. He has also promised us a stadium. Nawab saahab has also said he will do everything possible for development in this town. So, we will vote and hope the promises made to us were not just jumlas," said 21-year-old Tanzeel Ansari.

The irony of being a privileged constituency desperately in need couldn't be sharper.

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