Uttarakhand Elections 2017: No poll plank to weave our dreams on, say Pahari women

At 37, Mamta Bisht looks worn out, her sunburnt and wrinkled skin well offering a peek into the daily struggles of her life.

Mamta, from the hilly village of Gazar in Nainital district of Uttarakhand, earns a meagre income every month by weaving colourful woollen shawls and stoles. A doting mother to four girls, she also grows potatoes and other vegetables, chases away hordes of monkeys as they steal her vegetables, and performs other routine household chores.

Mamta is one of the many women from the hills who run the show in most Pahari families, where men have been grappling with alcohol addiction. However, they are disillutioned with the little political encouragement they have received from successive political leaders in promoting their work.

They allege that politicians make big promises during elections but never care to fulfil them.

"We had taken a special training in weaving and knitting work. The block and NGOs have also trained us in making Buransh (Rhododendron, a local flower) juice, apricot jams and pickles. But, buyers are far and few," Mamta says, admitting that they eagerly await the tourist season for some business.

Mamta, along with 14 other women, works in shifts at a nearby handloom. They make anywhere between Rs1,000 to Rs1,500 a month by selling woollen shawls and stoles. But, that's hardly sufficient.

"No politician has ever taken the initiative to promote us. Our skills and talent are underutilised as our products have never been marketed," Mamta says.

Women trained in making fruit and flower preserves make approximately Rs700 a month. "One bottle of Rhododendron juice sells for Rs120. But we have to buy the bottles, preservative and sugar. A large number of bottles does not sell and we end up distributing them among ourselves," Savitri Bisht, another woman tells this correspondent.

"Forget promoting us or our work, no leader has kept their basic promises. In the last many years, we have been promised a bandar baara (a designated area for monkeys to control them from getting into the farms) and closure of liquor shops, but nobody has done anything on that front," said another woman who refused to be identified.

Liquor trade is one of the biggest industries in the state.

Even as the successive state governments have always encouraged the trade, local women have been opposing liquor sale in Uttarakhand saying the menace of alcoholism has ruined families.

Uttarakhand goes to polls on February 15. On Saturday, frequent louspeaker attached vehicles, campaigning for political parties, were visible on the otherwise deserted hilly roads in the cold February.

Ironically, the Pahari women, also the chief decision makers among the village folk, are confused about their preferred political candidate.

For instance, there is a lot of grudge against the local legislator Dan Singh Bhandari, who won the last state elections, as a BJP candidate from the Bhimtal constituency, but later shifted his allegiance to the Congress.

"He has betrayed us by shifting to another party," said one of the women, indicating that he is unlikely to get the villagers' support this time.

The women said they like Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a leader and often leave their work halfway to listen to him on TV. But, they are not sure about the BJP candidate from the constituency, Govind Singh Bisht.

"During his tenure as the education minister in the previous BJP government, he never visited the villages here. So, what is the proof he would do anything for us if he wins again? What is the proof that he would market and promote our work?" another woman asked.

The women told DNA that Congress rebel and independent canidate Ram Singh Kaira does have higher chance of winning. In the last state elections, he secured the third position after Bhandari and Mohan Lal of the BSP.

However, Kaira is also known for his anti-outsider stand, even as the "outsiders" are crucial for businesses in the state.