Chandan Das MLA Bageshwar: Nearly all schools and villages connected with roads in my constituency.

Ajay Ramola
GG News Bureau
Dehradun,22nd June. Chandan Ram Das from BJP is a member of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly from the Bageshwar constituency in the Bageshwar district. He has been elected as Municipal chairman of Bageshwar in 1997 and has been elected thrice as a Member of the legislative assembly in 2007, 2012 and 2017 is a soft-spoken man and popular among his electorates. He was inclined to social works since his childhood and came to Bageshwar in 1980. He joined an NGO and started working through Khadi Garm Udyog and opened a typing institute and worked in the field of providing education to marginalized people in Bageshwar.

Speaking to GG News correspondent he highlighted the reason for his popularity and prospects of BJP. Here are the excerpts of the interview.
How did you come into political life?
I came to Bageshwar in 1980 and worked with an NGO through Khadi Gram Udhyog and set up several typing institutes along with providing education to marginalised people and from here I was inclined towards politics. I worked for creating cooperatives in the Bageshwar district and have been witness to land reforms and land ceiling movement.

  When were you elected as the Chairman of the municipal board?
I was elected in 1997 as an independent from Municipal Board Bageshwar. It was here I learned that service before self should be the motto if you want to rise in politics. So, I started working to resolve the basic needs of the people be it electricity or water supply etc. People loved my work and liked my attitude, and it is due to their love and affection I was chairman till 2002.

When did you decide to become an MLA?
fortunately I was inducted into BJP in 2007 and was given the MLA ticket from Bageshwar and I won the seat much to the delight of everyone. As an MLA I was head of several parliamentary committees under Vidhan Sabha and was instrumental in providing relief to people through my proactive interventions. When people saw my dedication, they reelected me in 2007, 2012 and in 2017 as an MLA, for which I am thankful to them.

  How has your constituency tackled the Covid pandemic?
Well, to date my district has witnessed 48 deaths due to the Covid pandemic which is the lowest in all districts and this was possible because we had begun the preparation to deal with it since the start of the first wave where I converted the district trauma centre into 26-bed hospital equipped with four ventilators. I granted Rs five lakhs from MLA Lad fund to the hospital and ensured the appointment of the required doctors including cardiac specialists, surgeon in the trauma centre with adequate arrangements of medical oxygen. I also ensured that the 40-bed arrangements are made in the district hospital and as the Covid cases started rising we created a 100-bed hospital at Government degree college.

 Why have you been so popular in your constituency?
I have worked with only one aim in my life which is developing and nurturing my constituency in the best possible manner and that too with complete dedication, integrity, and honesty. My constituency has 215-gram Sabhas and out of these, I have been able to connect 210-gram Sabhas with roads through the state sector plan, PMGSY and MP LAD fund to date. Five-Gram Sabhas are still left to without road connection they will be linked with the roads in next six months.

What would you call as your major achievement in the constituency?
Education has always been my focus as I believe if the youth is educated, he or she can serve the nation and the family effectively. So, keeping this in mind I started working for the up-gradation of inter-college and High schools which was appreciated by all. Not only this I also decided to connect each school with the road so that the students and teachers can attend the school conveniently. Apart from this I also worked for introducing several developmental schemes such as sewer line project, Stadium project, Rajiv Navodaya Vidhyalaya project. The land for the stadium and Navoday Vidhyalaya has been done and the DPR for the same is being made. All the CM announcements are near completion in my constituency which comes as a relief to me.
Have you ever been a member of the Congress party?
I have never been an active member of Congress party. Yes, I sue to live with Gopal ram das ji who was an MLA and minister in congress and related to me so people think I was in Congress party but I have never been registered as a congress worker in my life. If I would have been in Congress, why would I have fought as an Independent?
 

Why did you prefer BJP?
Well, because BJP is a national party with a dedicated worker base and a has a democratic organisation.it had 2 Member of parliament and Congress had 240 members in 1984. BJP from two members rose to 252 MLA and you can see where Congress is now. BJP presently is in 17 states which speaks of the dedication of party workers, its organizational skills and the ideology. It is a disciplined party and works as a cohesive unit where the organisation plays a major role. The leadership provided by Narendra Modi in the centre has also led to increasing in its popularity among the electorates.

 What do you think of the talks of establishing another AIIMS in Bageshwar?
well, there is the demand of establishing one All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and I welcome the demand. If such an institute comes up in Bageshwar it would be beneficial for the people, but such projects are time-consuming and moreover, the land acquisition for such an institute would be a difficult task as there is very little land available right now.so I feel that before such institute comes, we should strengthen the and work for increasing the capacity of the District Hospital, CHC’s and PHC’s.
It is said that there are possibilities of a third wave that will affect the children. Have you made any such arrangements for it?
We had begun the preparation for the third covid wave earnestly and separate room fitted with fifty beds has been created only for children and two dedicated child specialists have already been appointed and the number could be increased considering the level of the pandemic in future. Today ultrasound, five ICU beds have been increased and a WORKER FROM GURAT has donated an oxygen generating plant. DRDO is establishing one oxygen generating plant in a district hospital, and one is being created in Baijnath hospital.
The one crore that I got as MP Lad fund was utilised to equip hospitals. I wanted to spend it for CT scan but the doctors said that the government has decided to provide it with its own cost so I decided to use the MLA lad fund for providing CT scan coloured, X-ray digital machine, echo machine at Garud hospital and equip w other hospitals with other covid related facilities. I focused on strengthening district hospital, CHC Baijnath and other PHC’s so that they benefit after the Covid crisis is over. Right now, the situation is such that patients from outside Bageshwar, due to the availability of beds. 17 people died in the First wave and in the second wave around 48 deaths were reported and that was due to negligence and patients coming to the hospital advanced stage.

How do you think that the frontline workers have worked during the covid pandemic?
I salute the frontline workers for the job they have done under extremely difficult circumstances. Dr Abbas and his team in district Hospital Bageshwar have worked a day in and day out to treat people and it is due to their intervention Bageshwar has witnessed the lowest death rate in the state. I thank the doctors for the commendable job done so far. Although the fight is not yet over and we have to remain alert and ensure that we follow the covid appropriate behaviour of wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and regular sanitisation.
  What do you think are the prospects of BJP in the forthcoming elections that are due in 2022?
BJP is a national party with a disciplined organisation and dedicated workers. BJP believes in collective leadership a whereas Congress is ridden with factionalism and is full of sycophancy. BJP is the party that does not have charges of corruption on it so far. There have been some problems due to covid but now with PM Narendra Modi at the helm of affairs things have normalised to a certain extent. In the state former CM Trivendra Rawat has done good work and the preset CM is also doing a good job. BJP is the party where the organisation has a major role and not the individuals. It is a party that works with the motto of service before self and any CM appointed works according to the aspiration of the people, party, and workers. I am sure that BJP will break the mythic of alternate transfer of power between BJP and Congress in the state which has become a norm in every election and come out victorious in the next election.

Do you think national issues will impact the outcome in the state elections?
Well, PM Narendra Modi was elected on the issue of removing Article 370, constructing Ram temple, NRC and other issues of national importance and he has delivered by fulfilling the promises made by him. With no charge of corruption, the BP government has worked to empower people even during the changing covid pandemic period and I a sure that people will vote BJP in all five states with a thumping majority.

 What is your plan for the future of the constituency?
In my constituency, most of the works have been completed and I am waiting for them to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister which will be done soon. My next target is to start the Heli service for Bageshwar so that people. The six water lift scheme worth is one of the highlights of my works. There are very few remaining works and those will also be completed within the next six months and I am hopeful considering my track record the electorate of Bageshwar will give me another opportunity to serve them by electing me once again.

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