The number of toilets constructed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's adopted village Jayapur must be more than any other village of the same size, but how much are being actually put to use is a question.
In the village – which is around one hour drive from the PM's constituency Varanasi — has been developed as the model village for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, with 224 toilets constructed by the government under the scheme.
But they are not being used. People say that the size of the toilets is so small that they are hardly of any use to them. "Toilets are constructed, but they are so small that people can not even sit inside them. Most people keep them locked and have constructed another set of toilet adjacent to them," says Rita Rai supervisor at the village Khadi Gramodyog.
Another villager, Indra Sinhi says, "When government toilets were constructed, we felt that they were small in size and hence we had to construct another set of toilets for our use."
On taking a round of the village, it was seen that most of the government toilets were actually kept locked. Some were even used to dump cow dung in them.
The village head, however, does not agree with the village residents. "There are more than 500 toilets in the village, with 224 constructed under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan with the help of NGOs. They are all as per the government standards, people who are complaining probably have nothing better to do," says Shrinarayan Patel, village head Jayapur.
He adds that 75 per cent people in the village have started using toilets. Toilets are, however, not the only problem for people in the village. Education and healthcare are two other major concerns for the villagers.
A building for girl's school has been constructed, but school has not been functional. Instead, a Khadi Gramodyog centre for women where they spin charkhas and make yarn out of it has been constructed. "This building has been constructed a year ago, but school has not started. Since it was not being put to use, a yarn spinning unit was set up so that village women can earn a livelihood," said one of the supervisors in the unit.
"Girls still have to go far way to attend school, at least a basic primary should have started when we had a building, but we don't know what's happening with the money Modiji is sending," he adds.
BLAME GAME
- People don't blame the PM, but the village head, who, they say does not let the budget reach them
- The village head, however, says help has not come in terms of budget, but from the name that it has made
- More NGOs, through CSR activities, are doing most of the development in the village?
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