Struggle for basics a routine in Mewat ‘model’ village

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Mewat, July 24

A mound of debris for a classroom, a slushy stretch for a road, a school compound full of stagnant water and no drainage — if that is the Haryana Government’s definition of a “model village”, Ghasera qualifies with distinction.

No ordinary village, Ghasera’s claim to fame dates back to the days of Independence. Village elder Mamandin was 13 years old back then. After the country was free, Mahatma Gandhi came calling on the Meos, appealing to them to stay in India.

“He stood in the compound where the government school stands today and asked us to resist exodus, assuring us a life of dignity and worth. It is nearly 70 years and we are awaiting that promised life,” he says, as he tries to manoeuvre his tricycle through the slush with the help of his grandchildren to reach the bank for drawing his old-age pension.

Down the road from the bank, also one of the two entries to the village, stands the government school, its compound full of rainwater and students cramped in corridors of the building housing a few classrooms.

While the demolition of the old building in the same compound is under way, students of Class VII sit on the debris of the demolished building under the shade of a tree.

The principal, Wajid Hussain, explains there aren’t enough rooms to house all classes in the functional wing of the building, necessitating holding of classes in the open. With a wave of the hand, he asks the teacher to wind up the class under the tree and move to the corridor.

While the school presents a dismal picture with hardly any dry spot, the lane leading to it is worse. “Teachers ride in on their vehicles though the slush, but the students are forced to walk through it. This is a permanent feature because the village has no system to drain its dirty water ever since the main road was elevated. The district administration seems indifferent to our demand for creating a passage for the filthy water,” explains three-time sarpanch Ashraf, who has put in repeated applications to draw the administration’s attention.

“We know that Gandhiji’s words will not be honoured. The least we can get are basic amenities, which too are denied to us. Our youngsters are without jobs, sanitation is a far cry, power is in short supply and water, anyway, is scarce,” Lallu, another villager, laments.

Youngsters who have grown up hearing the story of Gandhiji’s historic visit are clearly unimpressed. “The visit might have been significant back then. It has translated into nothing for us. With no jobs and no future, we are being pushed to the wall. There is little hope,” says a disillusioned Sajjid Khan, sitting at a tea stall outside the village.

As evening descends, the young and the old of the village gather at tea stalls and the conversation, invariably, veers to their mundane lives, Bapu’s unrealised promises and the end of another day.

With little to look forward to, the Meos of this village continue to merely exist, contending that living is a different ball game reserved for the privileged few.