The village of Paraunkh sits in Derapur Tehsil of Kanpur district (Uttar Pradesh), 160 kms from state capital Lucknow and 70 km from Kanpur city
Akhand Ramayana and havan at the local goddess Pathri devi's temple; folk music, dance and rangoli decoration at his ancestral home which has been converted into a community centre (Milan Kendra) for villagers; rallies in the bylanes and distribution of sweets and water by every household to every visitor to the village... the jubilant scenes at the village of the new President-elect, Ram Nath Kovind, on Thursday were extraordinary.
"It is like Diwali and Holi coming together," said a veiled Ganga Devi Kovind, relative of the President-elect, as she distributed sweets hours before the result was officially announced. The villagers and Kovind's relatives were certain their man would win India's top chair.
The village of Paraunkh sits in Derapur Tehsil of Kanpur district (Uttar Pradesh), 160 kms from state capital Lucknow and 70 km from Kanpur city. Kovind was born there on October 1, 1945. The village of over 8,000 inhabitants doesn't have a primary heath centre. "We are dependent only on a 'jhola-chhap' doctor," says villager Dinesh Singh Chouhan, "The nearest health facility is around 8 km away in Derapur. Only lucky ones get to save their lives." The village also lacks a water tank, public transport system and badly needs a bridge that will shorten the distance and connect it to the tehsil headquarters. The only source of livelihood is farming.
The primary school, where Kovind studied, has been converted into cattle shed; the school has been shifted to a spot nearby.
Villagers say there have been small attempts by the district administration to decorate Paraunkh for media attention since Kovind's name was announced for the presidential race. "We used to get power supply for 14 to 16 hours a day. Now it has become 24/7," said one of the villagers. Water logged roads have been filled with mud, DDT has been sprayed and cattle was hurriedly being immunized on Thursday afternoon.
Naturally, villagers' hopes have been raised.
"State and district administration have ignored us for long," says Naresh Singh Gaur. "We now want Paraunkh to be developed just like Saifai. When Mulayam Singh Yadav can do it as CM, then our man – who is now President – can definitely do it." Saifai is Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mulayam Singh Yadav's native village, which has seen extraordinary development during the SP regime. "Saifai's roads are excellent," says Chouhan, who often visits Saifai for work. "It has all necessities, a medical college and also an airport. Paraunkh deserves the same, if not more."
"We now hope that our village gets smart city or at least nagar panchayat status," says Rajkishore Singh, Kovind's schoolmate and now a retired teacher. Villagers say that even if the government implements existing schemes for health and housing, they would benefit a lot.
"The only development we have seen is because of Kovind-ji," says a villager. "Because of his efforts as a parliamentarian we have a concrete road, a branch of the State Bank of India and a college. Four turbewells have been approved since he was appointed as governor of Bihar."
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