Mangli Murmu, a septuagenarian tribal woman in Dumka, is despondent, she believes they will remain as they are, elections or not. Her son Shivdhan believes most parties are after their jal, jungle and jameen.
“Koi neta kuch nahi karega, hum jaisa hai waise hi rahega (No leader will do anything, we will remain as we are),” said 75-year-old Mangli of Ranibahal village of Dumka block under Massanjore thana.
Retired postmaster of Dumka block, Madhav Shri Haripal (80), echoes her: “Leaders lack vision and lack quality. What can we do?”
A local journalist explained the reason for their despair — the Massanjore Dam, which falls under the Dumka constituency but has no benefit for the people.
“The Centre had constructed the Massanjore Dam over the Mayurakshi river in Dumka in 1956 with financial aid from the Canadian government. The dam was built to control drought in Bengal’s Birbhum and Burdwan districts. As per the agreement, a canal was to have been constructed to provide water for Dumka villagers. But that was never done.
“The Dumka area is arid and relies only on monsoons. Dumka is the sub-capital of Jharkhand only on paper. The people’s lot has not improved,” said Gautam Chatterjee, who writes for vernacular dailies.
Dumka, a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribes who comprise over 35% of the population of the constituency, also has 6% Christian voters and nearly 20% Muslim voters. It’s considered a bastion of the JMM (which is heading a coalition government in Jharkhand with the Congress and RJD).
Madhav rued: “One of the biggest dams (the Massanjore Dam, maintained by the Bengal irrigation department, is 2,100-feet-long and 155-feet-high) in the state is in Dumka but farmers can only cultivate one crop and stay idle for the rest of the year. Youths are forced to migrate for jobs as the water from the dam only benefits farmers in Bengal.”
Of the six Assembly segments in the Dumka Lok Sabha seat, Sarath and Jama are with the BJP and the rest with INDIA. Contesting this election are JMM’s Nalin Soren (76), a veteran Shibu Soren loyalist, and Sita Soren — the JMM patriarch’s eldest daughter-in-law — from the BJP camp.
Sititng MP Sunil Soren had defeated Shibu Soren by a margin of over 47,000 votes in 2019 but was axed this time in favour of Jama MLA Sita.
Nalin, who has represented the Sikaripara Assembly segment seven times (thrice in undivided Bihar), said: “Irrigation facilities are a problem in this constituency. We have been agitating for agreement compliance with the Bihar government (the original agreement was inked between the Bengal and Bihar governments) to construct a right canal on the dam to help our farmers with irrigation facilities. (Former chief minister) Hemant Soren had done groundbreaking of a mega lift irrigation project to benefit Dumka’s villagers.”
Soren, currently in judicial custody, laid the foundation of the Masaliya-Raniswhar mega lift irrigation project at Raniswhar block of Dumka in November 2022. The Jharkhand government claims work will be completed within three years, besides a 158m barrage on the Siddheshwari river also constructed in that time.
Some of this has infused hope among the locals.
Mangli Murmu’s eldest son, Shivdhan (51), said: “We are hopeful JMM will solve our irrigation problem. At least they have understood our problem. The other parties are only after our jal, jungle and jameen (water, forest and land).”
Dumka voted on June 1
