Voters across castes push for equitable development in Jammu’s SC-reserved seats

Samba/Kathua, Oct 1: In the Ramgarh constituency of Samba district, voters of all castes, including men and women, flocked to the Panchayat Ghar polling station in Diani village.

Their motivation?

A shared desire for equitable development for all, irrespective of caste.

The assembly segment located in Samba district is one of the seven constituencies in Jammu reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) following the recent delimitation exercise.

Of the 101,332 voters, 30,890 (30.48 percent) are SC, with the rest comprising Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and general categories, including upper-caste Brahmins, Rajputs, Guptas, and Mahajans.

"Yes, people from diverse castes live here, but the issues they confront are largely the same,” said Shagun Maniyal, a 35-year-old teacher at a private school.

She highlighted the plight of many skilled women in the village who, despite their talents, lack the resources to establish their businesses.

“We expect the representatives we choose to take initiatives that empower women and make them self-reliant,” Maniyal said.

Her views were echoed by Rimpi Kumari, a 40-year-old homemaker.

“Women from all castes can work together and contribute to the growth of the village. But for that to happen, our representatives must play a major role,” Kumari emphasised.

Around 50 km to Kalibari village in Kathua constituency, another SC-reserved seat, women expressed similar concerns.

They called for more livelihood opportunities, along with demands for basic amenities like toilets and recreational facilities.

"Women from marginalised communities still face numerous challenges, and we want our representatives to address these issues,” said Anju Devi, 55.

Kathua, with a voter base of 138,382, has 43,280 (31.28 percent) SC voters.

Despite the twin districts of Kathua and Samba being hubs for industries ranging from textiles to pharmaceuticals, local youth feel excluded from job opportunities in these sectors.

Keshav, a 25-year-old business administration graduate pursuing a web design course, said, “These industries don’t consider locally educated youth for jobs. Our presence in these industries is dismal.”

He said that while they were not against outsiders working in these industries, locals should be given preference during recruitment.

In addition to the concerns about unemployment, there is a growing alarm over drug abuse in the area.

With its proximity to the Line of Control (LoC), the region has seen a surge in the availability of drugs including heroin, brown sugar, and cocaine.

"The educated youth are falling into drugs," said Sunil, a graduate. “This has led to an increase in crime in the area. We want our representatives to help rid us of this menace that is consuming our generation.”