Monga Munda has little or no interest in listening to politicians asking for votes; his concern is how to purchase expensive kerosene oil.
“I have no time listening to political leaders. Will they arrange some extra litres of kerosene oil for me?” asks Monga, the village head of Tubid tola under Bari Nijikel panchayat, part of the Khunti Lok Sabha constituency.
Ulihatu, the village of revered tribal icon Birsa Munda, also comes under this Lok Sabha seat that the BJP’s Karia Munda represented for nine terms.
Union tribal affairs and agriculture minister Arjun Munda is the incumbent MP.
Why does Monga require kerosene oil, this correspondent asks the 40-year-old. For his son, Soma Munda, a student of Class IX, to study in the dark as he prepares for his matriculation exams next session, Monga replies in broken Hindi.
Monga Munda (centre in green shirt) and other villagers at Tubid in Khunti. Picture by Bhola Prasad
“A litre of kerosene oil costs between ₹110 and Rs 120 and I do not have enough money to buy it in huge amounts. I ask my son to study during the day as after dusk, he has to study with the help of lanterns. He needs to study more in the evenings as he will sit for his matriculation exams soon. I want him to pass the exam with good numbers so that he gets a good job,” the worried father elaborates.
Monga, and the other villagers, show The Telegraph the electricity line that passes barely 200m from their houses. But all they have are the lines, there’s no electricity connection yet.
“There are several such tolas (hamlets) here which do not have electricity. For us fans and lights are a dream even now,” adds Monga, who cultivates paddy, pulses and vegetables and has three children — two sons and a daughter, all of whom attend government schools.
“We have applied at the block office several times for electricity connections but have only received assurances. During the Prime Minister’s visit last year, we were asked not to come on to the roads and instead stay in our villages,” says Etwa Munda, also from Tubid tola.
Electricity, or the lack of it, isn’t the only problem for the people. Potable water is also
a dream.
The Tubid hamlet in Barinijikel panchayat in Khunti. Picture by Bhola Prasad
“For us tap water supply is a dream. A solar-powered water tower has also become dysfunctional. We only see the graffiti of Har Ghar Jal (of the central Jal Jeevan Mission) on our walls,” adds Etwa.
Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, which marks Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary, had flagged off the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra from Khunti on November 15 last year. The yatra included awareness vans carrying messages of the government’s flagship welfare schemes.
Etwa’s wife Anita Purty points to an uncovered old well as their only source of water.
“This is the only source of our water which is used for cooking and other purposes. In the monsoons, dirty water gets mixed with the well water. We are worried about our health,” she says.
Anita Purty and other villagers take out water from the well at Tubid in Khunti. Picture by Bhola Prasad
James Kujur, the executive engineer of Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited, admitted that several hamlets did not have power connections. “We have submitted a detailed project report of such hamlets to the state government for tender under the Mukhya Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. As soon as we get funds we will get the tender completed and provide electricity connection,” said Kujur.
Executive engineer of the drinking water and sanitation department, Khunti, Surender Kumar also said work is going on to provide drinking water facilities in each hamlet.
Khunti votes on May 13
