Chittorgarh Demands Job Quota For Local Youths

While most of the districts in the state are demanding industry to accelerate development and generate employment opportunities,

Chittorgarh

’s problem is a little different. It has industry, what it wants is jobs for locals.


Unemployment is one of the biggest problems in Chittorgarh, which once prided on its valour. Locals claim while it is one of the few districts where industry arrived early in the form of cement plants, unemployed youth from the district get no preference over outsiders. The political parties are often approached with demands of

job

quota for locals.

Much like the employment opportunities, people here believe that the district has not witnessed infrastructure development to match the existence of industry. Lack of proper medical facilities is a major issue and despite the fact that the district headquarters is located on a major national highway, it does not have a trauma centre.

The district is a big huge source of limestone and has earned a reputation of being the cement hub of the country, but it faces an increasing problem of air pollution. In several areas of the district, particularly in Nimbahera and Chittorgarh assembly constituencies, the greenery is covered in a dirty white blanket of limestone dust and yet, the issue remains largely neglected. People say the industry may one day may turn into a Frankenstein. The local residents want the industry and the state government to address the issue on a war-footing.

The Chittorgarh fort, which stands testimony to Mewar’s strength, pride and courage — a crucial part of Rajputana history – is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but the city does not have the required tourist facilities. The fort had become the epic centre of the Rajput community’s agitation against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmaavat’ last year. Chittorgarh has a good number of Rajput voters, who are believed to be upset with the ruling party. However, many claim that the community is divided over support to the ruling party.

The district, with its five constituencies, is the second largest district of the Mewar region and locals here are known to vote for the political party which is likely to form the government. In 2013, the voters gave a clear mandate to the saffron party which won on all the five seats while in 2008, it was the Congress which had swept all five. Prior to that BJP had won four seats in 2003 while Congress, in 1998, had won on three of the five.

Senior leaders including BJP’s former Union minister Jaswant Singh and Congress’s Girija Vyas have represented the

Lok Sabha

from here. With a clear mandate to both the parties alternately in the state assembly elections, the stake and hopes are high for both BJP and Congress.

While the ruling party repeated four of its MLAs including UDH minister Shrichand Kriplani from Nimbahera, it dropped its incumbent MLA Gautam Kumar from Bari Sadri, following complaints from party workers against his inactiveness after Congress managed to capture Bari Sadri Nagar Palika from BJP in 2017. Of its five sitting MLAs,one each represents the Sindhi, Jain and Rajput communities while two belong to reserved categories.

Congress has also repeated four of the five candidates it had fielded in 2013, making an exception only in Kapasan, the single reserved seat of the district.

Pratapgarh, which was the last in the state to get a district status, is largely a tribal area. Both the assembly seats here are reserved for ST candidates. Development here in slow and the vast ecotourism opportunities here remained untapped.