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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dams before cash in bank by Amit Gupta

Dams before cash in bank by Amit Gupta

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published Published on Dec 19, 2010   modified Modified on Dec 19, 2010

What is life like at a water-strapped village, after its 15 minutes of fame?

The hitherto nondescript Doba under Kudu block of Lohardaga district, with a population of less than 1,500, was thrust into flashbulbs during Wednesday’s high-profile visit of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D. Subbarao, who came with a team comprising chief secretary A.K. Singh and senior officials of nationalised banks.

Not surprisingly, a hasty whitewash preceded the celebrity visit. The administration morphed into Santa and came to this tribal hamlet laden with goodies such as a revamped connecting road, water supply (restored after 20 years) and promise of 25 wells and a series of check dams.

But keep the gifts and visitors aside and what does Doba have?

A failed kharif crop. And irrigation facilities nowhere in sight.

“This year, we witnessed the worst-ever drought. We could not sow paddy due to a failed monsoon. Now, there is another chance of producing vegetables and rabi crops, but there’s no water. We want the government to provide us with some source of irrigation,” said an elderly villager Ranjit Lakra.

Villager Bandi Oraon applauded the role of RBI and nationalised banks in adopting the village for the ambitious 100 per cent financial inclusion scheme. But he wondered: “How will villagers get money to put in banks, if there’s no water and if MGNREGS schemes pay so little?”

Villagers appealed to the chief secretary during his visit that the government should ensure the construction of a series of check dams by the banks of the Koel river that flows by the picturesque village dotted with sakhua trees.

“The chief secretary has directed us to submit a plan to construct a series of check dams in the river so that villagers get a perennial source of irrigation water. As many as 25 big diameter irrigation wells have been sanctioned under MGNREGS for the village comprising three tolas,” said Ram Chandra, assistant programme officer of Lohardaga district rural development agency.

Chandra conceded that it was in the run-up to the high-profile visit that 5.5km of kutcha roads got a Rs 8.5 lakh revamp under MGNREGS. “The defunct water supply scheme in the village was also hastily repaired by the drinking water and sanitation department engineers,” he added.

The village, about 65km from the state capital, is otherwise politically aware. The just-concluded panchayat polls received a rousing response, with as many as 18 candidates in the fray for the post of mukhiya. “The fight was interesting. But we will elect only able candidates as mukhiya or in other posts,” said Lakra.

Elections will come and go, but it remains to be seen if Doba stays the same. Or at best, gets some hasty state largesse before another celebrity visitor stops by its dusty tracks.

The Telegraph, 18 December, 2010, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101219/jsp/frontpage/story_13319569.jsp


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