Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh:
It is perhaps the same story of last minute development work ordered by those in power in majority of the constituencies of any poll-bound state and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh is no exception to it.
A lot of work like repair of dilapidated roads and removal of encroachment from pavements can be seen going on in Bilaspur, one of the major cities of Chhattisgarh, which will go to polls on November 19.
BJP nominee and state health minister Amar Agarwal, who has been representing Bilaspur in the 90-seat Chhattisgarh legislative assembly for the last ten years, faces a tough challenge from Congress candidate and city mayor Vani Rao over lack of development and other issues.
"See the condition of the roads. They are in poor shape. There is a lot of dust in the city. BJP has done nothing in the last ten years of its rule. People are fed up and want change," Rao told PTI while interacting with voters at Railway Colony in Bilaspur.
An agile Rao, who is in her early fifties, has undertaken a mass contact programme and is trying to visit each and every area of Bilaspur constituency and its voters.
"BJP's winning MLA from here is the health minister. Still the roads are in bad health. Nothing has been done for youths by the ruling party. I am confident people will surely choose their betterment by voting Congress to power in this election," she said.
Rao's working as Bilaspur Mayor and her pro-people attitude has gained acceptance from a section of the public while Agarwal's approach towards development and welfare of the people has been criticised by some.
Bilaspur has two major government-aided hospitals - District Hospital and Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS), which is compared by the ruling party to Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS).
Both the hospitals need renovation and capacity building by the administration as long queues of patients can usually be seen awaiting their turn to see a doctor and frantic running around by family members of severely ill patients to find an empty bed is a common sight.
"I am here to consult a doctor for my ailing son. He needs to be admitted, but doctors are denying availability of any bed for him," Kasture Sukma, who had come to the government hospital in Bilaspur, said.