Friday, 30 December 2022 | VP Dimri
GUEST COLUMN
VP Dimri
“Kahan Niti, kahan Mana, kahan Irani, kahan Pana, ek Shayam Singh patwari ne kahan kahan jana” I heard this when I was a student in primary school during the mid-fifties of last century in a small town of Chamoli which was then the headquarter of a Tehsil in Uttar Pradesh. The highly remote and inaccessible villages like Niti, Mana, Irani and Pana were cared for by only one government employee- the Patwari, Shayam Singh at that time. The region is in the central Himalayas bordering China.
These are four villages in the upper mountainous area in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Mana village is about two kilometres from the famous Badrinath temple and is at an altitude of more than 3,200 metres while Niti is about 60 kilometres from Joshimath at an altitude of 3,600 metres. So, residents of these villages stay there in summer and come to lower altitudes during the winter to their other villages near Chamoli town like Chhinaka and others, near Gopeshwar which is currently the head quarter of Chamoli district. There are also two other high-altitude villages namely Irani and Pana in Chamoli district, the former is about 20 kilometres from Auli-a famous winter sports destination and 26 kilometres from another famous location known as the Valley of Flowers. Pana village is about 10 kilometres from famous Gauna artificial lake formed in 1894 due to landslide which broke in 1970 because of cloud burst resulting devastating floods from Birahi to Haridwar.
However, there was one person who used to share his observations and findings of these villages with others and government officials like tehsildar, etc. Let us see what has happened during the last 60 years or so. This region comes under the Badrinath Assembly constituency since the days of undivided Uttar Pradesh. I happen to see a list of queries asked by the first member of the Badrinath constituency, the late Ghanshyam Dimri addressed to all Panchayats on March 18, 1958. There is a sheet with many questions asking if there is a building belonging to the village Panchayat, any primary, or junior high school, and if not how far to travel to reach school; if there is any bridle path from the village to the nearby motor road and how far; is there any bridge or jhula to cross the river to reach your village; is there any hospital and how far is a hospital or dispensary located, and if there are any animal husbandry facilities; how far is the seed store from your village; how far is the post and telegraph office from your village; what is the source of water or how far one has to go to fetch drinking water; is there any problem being faced due to nearby forests; how many students passed junior and high school- how many have been employed or without a job; is there any small-scale local industry; is there any government credit society and office near your village; how many people are over 70 years old and how are they; is there any welfare development establishment near your village?
The above questions were asked 64 years ago and we did not know their reply then. But we can try to see how many of these have been fulfilled. Many of these issues have been sorted out like roads, bridges, drinking water, the opening of schools, dispensaries, post offices and banks, encouraging local products, etc. In fact, now we have degree colleges, universities, medical and engineering colleges, guest houses, hotels, resorts, etc. There are some villages where we need to focus and do some improvements in roads and other aspects as this region attracts pilgrims for the Char Dham Yatra, tourists for Valley of Flowers, Auli and defense interests due to the region bordering China. The questions posed 64 years ago still remain valid for quality of better life but due to other developments, a new question is why people of these areas are leaving their villages. In fact, answers lie in the questions posed in 1958 by the former MLA. For example, people are leaving their villages because of unemployment. Another example is poor education which was also asked by the then MLA. Similarly poor medical and other facilities as reflected in his other questions.
So, we can say that a warning on migration from Uttarakhand was issued in 1958! The main question is now to reverse the trend of migration. For this, we have to work hard in solving all 13 questions and many others in the coming years otherwise it will be too late. The idea of the vibrant village programme of the Government of India is one such solution as announced in the union budget 2022-23. The activities will include the construction of village infrastructure, housing, tourist centers, road connectivity, provision of decentralised renewable energy, direct-to-home access for Doordarshan and educational channels, and support for livelihood generation. There is also scope for providing additional funds for the development. So, these hard to access villages – Niti, Mana, Irani, and Pana should be classified under the vibrant village programme of India.
The recent initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to visit and stay one night and consume local food as done by the PM in the Mana village encouraged the people of Mana, Niti, Irani, and Pana. Now, Mana village which was earlier known as the last Indian village is now the ‘first village’ to have 4G connectivity inaugurated by chief minister Dhami on December 10.
(A Padma Shri recipient, the author is an eminent scientist who has worked in various institutions. Views expressed are personal)
