Shyama Devi, 80, moves towards her cot
holding a packet of bleach in her shaky hands. Showing bleach to her son
standing by the cot she asserts, “If I apply this on my cot, the mosquitoes
won’t bite me.” Sensing her fear the son, Raj Bahadur, tells her: “Amma (mother) one doesn’t put this on
cots, but in drains.” He takes the chemical from her.
The fear that Shyama Devi grapples
with, is shared by residents of half-a-dozen villages from Gondlamaublock in
Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district. They all dread falling prey to a contagious
fever and mosquito-borne diseases. This year a mysterious fever has claimed 25
lives making about 2,500 people ill in Gondlamau block. Doctors have attributed
it to the uncleanliness of the affected villages.
Shyama Kumari lives in the Natval Grant
village which falls in Gondlamaublock. This village of 300 people has also
fallen victim to the contagious fever. Last year, this village lost 10 people
to the contagious fever and this year about 20 villagers suffer from it. Seeing
the filthy state the village is in, it seems that despite being in its 5th
year of operation, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has not even been heard of here.
Another resident of the village, Raj
Bahadur Chaudhary, 38, said: “So many people have died because of the filth, but
no official takes any notice. Our village doesn’t have a drainage facility so
accumulated water breeds mosquitoes. We have complained several times to the Pradhan
(village head), but no one listens. Our village doesn’t see any measure of
cleanliness being taken. We have one sweeper who doesn’t come often.”
Raj Bahadur Chaudhary
To show Gaon Connection team the level of uncleanliness in the village, Raj
Bahadur takes it to the heart of the village and pointing out to the pits in
front of several houses says: “Village women store water from their houses in
these pits in absence of drains.” He added: “These women digging up a pit in
front of their house, place a plastic drum in it so as to accumulate the water
used by their households. They take it out then and throw the water within the
village because they do not have any other option.”
Yet another villager Dulari Devi, 65, is
found sitting outside her house. Seeing the camera, she speaks up. “Saheb it is very difficult,” and pulling
by the hand, takes across to a gutter full of murky used up water. This gutter
fills up every two days following which I empty it out. Without any drainage, we
have to do it so. Please do this much that a drain is constructed.” She added: “My
household doesn’t even have a toilet facility; we all defecate in the open.”
The Union government has kept a target
of a clean India by 2019 under which toilets have been made swiftly. As per the
data uploaded on the website of Swacch Bharat Mission (Rural), so far, 2,58,485 gram panchayats have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) with 5,99,469
villages have been freed from open defecation.
Following this, even the Narval Grant gram panchayat has been declared ODF. This gram panchayat has four villages where
a total of 240 toilets have been made. The reality, however, seems different. One
can easily come across half-finished toilets and people going out for
defecating in the open.
Yet another villager, Nand Kishore
Chaudhary, 45, showing a half-done toilet says, “Our Pradhan has had this made.
The beneficiary didn’t get any money. Filling up his bank accounts with money,
he has left this half-finished.” The toilet so shown holds junk on its roof and
supports a vine on its door.
Why don’t the villagers raise the issue in the
meetings of gram sabha? In answer to this question, Nand Kishore said: “We are
not informed about the meeting’s time or date. There is no announcement to this
effect. When and who makes the work plan we don’t know. The gram pradhan
doesn’t listen to anyone. Whom should we address our woes?”
It is compulsory for a gram sabha to
meet at least twice each year—one after Kharif crop harvest and the other
following rabi harvest. Members should be notified 15 days prior to the meeting.
Gram pradhan has the right to convene the meeting of the gram sabha. At any given
time, he may even convene an irregular meeting. All these meetings include
charting out work plans. People of Natval Grant, however, maintain that they
are never informed of any gram sabha meeting.
Uncleanliness is the main risk factor for mosquito-borne diseases
When gram pradhan Balak Ram was approached
regarding the village woes, he said, “My panchayat is quite small and so
doesn’t get appropriate funds. We are doing whatever we can. A drain is being
constructed with chamber made and pipe already laid.” When told that the said
works were yet unfinished, he assured of their speedy completion. About the
gram sabha meeting, he stressed that everyone is called when such meeting is
convened.
Regarding the issue, Sitapur’s
District Panchayat Raj Officer (DPRO) Indra Narayan Singh told Gaon Connection, “I had visited Natval
Grant Village. Pavagework was being undertaken there. The secretary whom I had
directed the charge has not attended to it well. I have ordered an enquiry
against the said official.”
About the matter of the villagers not
being informed about the gram sabha meeting, DPRO says, “You yourself know how
many villagers attend the meeting. They may attend only if they stand to gain
personally otherwise not. People should regularly attend such meetings with
social welfare in mind.”
It is not that only Natval Grant
villagers are kept in dark regarding the gram sabha meeting. The National Rural
Development and Panchayati Raj Institute run 100+ Cluster Development Programmes.
Its coordinatorPankaj Kalki informs, “Most of the villages are unable to learn
about the meeting of the gram sabha. If at all the meeting is convened, the
work plan formulated therein doesn’t favour the villagers. This is
problematic.”
He added: “Gram sabha meetings are
crucial due to the work plans made as per members’ needs. Like somewhere
drainage is required, somewhere road, the water tank—such requirements are raised
in the meetings. Whichever plan is made in the meeting, the same is conveyed to
the gram panchayat which puts it in order of priority and making a draft plan
resends it to the gram sabha informing the villagers which all works have been
included in the work scheme. All gram sabhas must work on the same line. But
nothing happens in reality which results in situations like that of Natval
Grant.”
