On Sunday night, residents of Koppala district’s Gangavati area were up in arms against Janata Dal (Secular) MLA Iqbal Ansari. Alleging that he had not visited his constituency in five years and had not paid heed to their demands, angry residents hurled tumblers and slippers at Iqbal as he began his speech.
Locals alleged that Iqbal had reneged on his promise of constructing toilets for the people in his constituency.
“Five years ago, Iqbal Ansari had come to us and assured us that he would construct toilets, and also resolve the water supply problem we face here. In this constituency, these are the two main problems. In the last five years, not a single toilet was constructed and the water supply problem is still there,” said Parimala, a resident of the area.
The women here alleged they have to use open spaces close to their homes to attend to nature’s call.
“Now these open spaces are stinking. Sometimes, people in the area gather and clean up the open areas, but for how long can we keep doing this? In 2017 alone, around 50 people got Chikungunya in Gangavati. There are so many mosquitoes. Despite so many people falling sick, the MLA did not come visit those who were sick. Now, he has the audacity to ask for our votes. Of course, we are angry. He did not do his job and did not keep his promise. Why should we trust him?” Kamalamma, another protester, demanded.
Residents of the constituency allege that they had written several letters to Iqbal and the Koppala Municipal Council, but all in vain.
“Yesterday, some of us went to submit a letter which contained our demands. But when we presented it to Iqbal, he just left the area. Of course people will get angry and they hurled tumblers at him. But even after that he was still arrogant and he left without hearing our grievances. Just because elections are coming up they will come and make false promises. We don’t want such leaders. Even we know how to teach them a lesson,” said Thimmanna, who had gone to submit the letter to Ansari.
TNM tried contacting the MLA multiple times, but he could not be reached for a comment.