As the
Padayatra wends its way through the drought affected regions of Marathwada, one
sees more and more misery caused by mis-management, administrative apathy and
plain simple callousness. The much maligned nature has had very little to do
with the fate of the people. Let us look at some of the shockers that are
emerging.
Harwadi, is middle sized village around 18 km from Latur city. It has the
Manjara river flowing next to it. It is not a perennial river but it is still
flowing in some stretches in January. There are a number of deep water pockets
in the bed of the river. A water source close to the village… Cause for
rejoicing, one would imagine… hold on that’s not so.. the reason is very
simple… some planner has decreed that all the waste from Latur city should be
released in this river… the outlet comes exactly opposite the well that has
been dug in the river bed for supplying drinking water to Harwadi… the foul
smelling water is completely unpotable and not useful for agriculture either.
Water as to be supplied by tankers all round the year, irrespective of the
amount of rainfall. A few bore wells in the village have also been contaminated
by the waste water flowing from Latur city. A Jalswaraj project is starting in
the village. What that will achieve will be determined by time… till then the
travails of the villagers are to be seen to be believed.
Naigaon Mayur, in Patoda tehsil of
Beed district is a village on the fringes of a Peacock sanctuary. The village
is surrounded by 11 small and large lakes… that can hold water for at most one
month after monsoon! Last summer a number of peacocks died, probably from
thirst… A local youth group, Mayur Mitra Mandal, has been running from pillar
to post trying to get the water stores rejuvenated by the administration… to no
avail so far… For the last 15 days the children in the anganwadi were not
getting any food… apparently the Grampanchayat ‘forgot’ to ask for provisions
and the anganwadi worker claims to be helpless.. net result… children go
hungry… Old timers say that the unity is the village was remarkable… till a few
years ago… then politics intervened and things have never been the same again..
still the people have managed to come together, contribute money and dig 5 bore
wells so that some drinking water is assured… otherwise the dependence on
tankers is almost absolute….
The story coming out of Mainda in
Beed is horrifying… in 1988 a big lake was dug near the village… a farmer lost
13 acres of farmland… he got a measly compensation that left him with no option
but to work as a labourer to sustain his family… he has been trying to get
proper compensation for the last 18 years… off late the poor man just lost
hope.. he would wander around in the village muttering to whosoever was in
earshot “I must end my life… what is the point of living on like this”… he did
exactly that in December 2005… this news was reported in the state newspapers…
the effect on government and administration…. Nothing at all…
Who is to
blame for these state of affairs? Surely one can find individual erring
officials / departments… however, we feel that the malaise runs deeper… it is
probably connected with a lackadaisical attitude to work… a complete lack of
any work ethic whatsoever… the situation is compounded by ignorance of common
people and absence of fear of punitive measures in the minds of the officials
responsible….
The answer
to some of these issues could be an aware citizenry backed with improved and
transparent systems of governance… people themselves have to feel that it is
their government, they are themselves responsible for governance and the
officials and leaders have to feel accountable to people… a tall ask? May be …
but essential…
The MAHARASHTRA
VIKAS NIDHI (MAHARASHTRA DEVELOPMENT FUND) awaits contributions from all of
you… Watch this space for further updates. Do also watch the blog at www.greenearthconsulting.org/padayatra.htm.
A number of the CSOs participating in the Padayatra are partners of the Poorest
Area Civil Society (PACS) programme. Stories and updates of the Padayatra are
available at the PACS website www.empowerpoor.org
grnearth@vsnl.com, 020-25466103,
09422521703
Dushkaal
Hatawu : Manoos Jagawu
(Eradicate
Drought : Save Humanity)
January 20,
2006