Uneasy lies the head? Chief minister Shibu Soren wears a silver crown after being conferred the title of Jagat Guru by the International Santhal Council in Jamshedpur on Sunday. Picture by Prashant Mitra See Jharkhand 15

Tamar (Ranchi), Dec. 21: The battle cry for Tamar may be growing louder, but the pitch for issues that matter is dying down, thanks to political moves and manoeuvres.

Naxalite menace, acres of barren and dry land because of the failure of the Kanchi project, lack of power stations, failed drinking water projects, vegetables being sold at throwaway prices due to lack of a cold storage in Bhuiyandih — are just some of the problems plaguing the region.

But none of the candidates in the Tamar by-election fray have addressed these yet and are campaigning on vague lines of vikas (development) and eradication of poverty.

Chief minister Shibu Soren, former minister Anosh Ekka, former chief minister Babulal Marandi and former state home minister Sudesh Mahto are some of the political stalwarts who are in the race to woo Tamar candidates.

UPA functionary Rakshitesh Singh had a ready answer when asked why issues were taking a back seat. “A candidate winning this time will serve the people for an year. That could be the reason why specific issues are not being raised in this election,” said .

Soren, who addressed a crowd at Tamar High School grounds today, sang a different tune. He said he was not in favour of contesting himself. He said that a letter informing him of the poor state of Tamar, where more than 50,000 acres have been hit by drought, had moved him. But despite that the chief minister did not come up with any concrete suggestion on how to change the situation.

UPA leaders are claiming that though less popular, opinions were now in favour of Soren because the people were hoping for a miracle that only a chief minister could ensure in the region in a relatively short span of time.

The feeling has been further cemented by the fact that it took the JMM workers less than 48 hours to replace a defunct power transformer in Kothari Bandhu chowk.

Similar repair work by any party would have cost months or at least a good amount of cash.

However, the problems of the region are far from being over. Over a lakh farmers in Ranchi and Khunti (parts of which fall under the Tamar seat) have been left in the lurch since last year’s collapse of the Kanchi canal irrigation project that was responsible for watering 40,000 acres.

Conceptualised in 1958, the project was responsible for irrigating farmlands in the extremist-hit blocks of Bundu, Sonahatu, Tamar (in Ranchi), Arki (in Khunti) and Ichhagarh (in Seraikela-Kharsawan).

“Last year, it collapsed totally. We made an attempt to repair it by inviting tenders worth Rs 4.85 crore. Not a single construction company turned up to bid, as the project site is in the Naxalite belt,” said an engineer of the Bundu division of the water resources department.

The demand for a power sub-station in the Tamar region is also some two-decade old. However, except lip service, no leader has actually taken concrete steps.

The condition of the Tamar water supply project in Kanchi is also in a sorry state. It has been put on hold for the past decade and more.

Mahtos, who are the majority in the area, ensured that at least when it came to cultivating tomato and brinjal, the region succeeded. Tomato and brinjal of the area get exported to neighbouring Bengal and Orissa, expect for a few months, when they are sold at throwaway prices because there are no cold storages in the area.

With issues taking a back seat, the fight between Anosh Ekka-led Jharkhand Party and Shibu Soren’s JMM has stolen the spotlight, as has Vasundhara Devi, the wife of slain MLA Ramesh Singh Munda, who is riding on a sympathy wave.

Also in the fray, Sudesh Mahto’s Ajsu and Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) are taking full advantage of an “issueless” election.