Exclusive: Little Jholamba, a world away from India

ByKomal Badodekar

Jholamba, locatedabout 75 kms from Amravati in Maharashtra, is yet another study of contrast between a rapidly developing "India"and "Bharat".

The problems of Jholamba are the same as many of India's villages.

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One has to travel by train or bus to get here from the city. After that, it is sharing an auto-rickshaw, bullock cart or a two-kilometer walk.

In 2017, as we celebrate our 70th independence day, we may talkabout "Make inIndia" and "Digital India"but the situation in some villages in India is still close to slaveryreminiscentof the ancient times. Some villages are still struggling for basic amenities. The people of Jholamba are also among those who are struggling for bare essentials.

Bad Roads

In Jholamba, the roads built 20 years ago have completely crumbled, making them difficult to walk on during monsoons. The condition of the roads is sobad thatnot even a single bus comes to the village, the bus stand itself is shabby which could collapse at any moment. People use bullock carts, share auto-rickshaws or walk to go to other villages. Some have their own motorcycles but because of the bad roads, they think twice before travelling.

The bus stand is shabby. One cannot predict when it will collapse. Image source: Komal Badodekar, Zee Media (Zee News Network)

State-run buses hardly of use

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation busesarrive at 8am and return the same way and not by the path used by villagers, some take the buses but only on special occasions. Children, however, have to go to school on the other side at Hiverkhed around 10:30 am.

The villagers saythat last yearonly 500 meters of roads were renovated but that no work has been done to complete the remaining seven kilometres. There is also a bus-stop, but buses donot come here due to bad roads.

Why children can't go to school during monsoons

While entering the village from Hiverkhed, one has to cross a rustedbridge reportedly built around 30 years ago.

Cracks can be seen in many places in the bridge. Water overflows during rainy days. Image source: Komal Badodekar, Zee Media (Zee News Network)

Cracks can be seen in many places onthe bridge. Water overflows during rainy days and the fear of accidents remain. Children do not go to school in Hiverkhed. No one knows when the new bridge will be made. Perhaps the administration will pay attention when a major accident occurs.

Education

There is a government school in Jholamba. The school tells its own story.

No one knows what is "Digital India", but when I asked if there isa computer, thevillagers said, "yes, but it is not operational".

The school has classes from class I to VII. Those who want to study further till class XIhave to travel seven kmfrom Hiverkhed becauseof bad roads, the seven-kilometer journey is countedin hours. Some children commute by their own bicycle, others walk.

The path is so rugged that it is impossible for the buses to remain on the road. The villagers have asked the government to renovate the road as soon as possible which would makeit easier for children to travel to other villages for further studies. After class 12th, children travel to Taluka Warud which is 29 kmaway, Morshi 15 km, Amravati 82 km and Nagpur at a distance of 129 kms.

No toilets for men

A large population of Jholamba still defecates in the open. The villagers say the public toilets are only for women, not for men.

The condition of the toilets for women is deplorable. The toilets are so dirty that onefeels better stepping out in the open. Apart from this, there is no provision for electricity in the toilets and there is a complete lack of water management.

Mobile Network

In cities we enjoythe benefits of 4G and Wi-Fi, but in this village people struggle with 2G connections. In Jholamba, the villagers also face the problem of bad networking. Asked about it, they said, "We have got a little better network there. There is still 2G network in Jholamba."They have heard about 4G but there is no mobile tower for a better network.

Water problems

Several states across India face the problem of drought. Vidarbha in Maharashtra is also one of them. This village is also a part of Vidarbha. There arethree water tanks in two of which, the water supply is closed. The other tank supplies water to two other villages - Natada and Mamdapur.

No one sees a doctor in Jholamba

Health problems may be the same throughout the country but the situation is very different in Jholamba. There is a health center but no one has ever seen adoctor here. There is a nurse, but she comes only twice a week. If there is an emergency for the remaining five days, then people take the patientto another village. The road is so bad that one can only imagine what would happen by the time the patient reaches thehospital.

The Gram Panchayat office

In the interaction, the villagers said that there is also a Gram Panchayat office.At a time when we talkabout Digital India, MAC, and Windows-10, life revolves around anold computer here. Nobody knows who operates the computer.

A boy from the village says the office neither hasa landline nor aninternet connection.

12,000 toilets and no sewage system

Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, 4X4X4 size toilets are being constructed in housesat a cost of Rs12,000. But it has nowater, electricity or a sewage tank.

MPs have no idea of their village

Member of Parliament (Amravati Parliamentary Area) Anandrao Adsul did not know about this village. When I told him the location and gave the details of the Jholamba, he assured me he would look into the problems of the village and discuss the matter with the Member of the Legislative Assembly from the area, in effect he virtually passed the buck!

Assurances only: Sarpanch

When I spoke to Archana Gyaneshwar, the Sarpanch (headwoman) of Jholamba, she said, "I spoke about the problems with the top executives many times, but every time I was given an assuranceonly. I gave a written application but no action has been taken so far."

Archana Gyaneshwar, the sarpanch (headwoman) of Jholamba says no action has been taken on the problems faced by the villagers. Image courtesy: Komal Badodekar, Zee Media (Zee News Network)

This is the story only one village in our "Bharat". There are several othervillages in every corner of the country where people struggle withbasic amenities. It is a real shame that we have reached the Moon but still struggle to ensure basic facilities in our villages.

After 70 years of independence when the slogan of "Digital India"is being strengthened, the condition of Jholamba reveals a different India.