Ground report: Basic needs of MP’s Baiga tribe are deprived, forced to drink contaminated water by digging pits on the mountain

In Anuppur’s Baigantola, pits of about 7-8 feet deep are dug. Natural water from the mountains collects in these pits at night. People are falling sick by drinking this water. Meanwhile, electricity has not yet reached Gadidadar.

Ankit Pachauri

Bhopal. Roads, water and electricity have not yet reached many tribal villages of Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh. Talking to The Mooknayak, 24-year-old Shamli Bai, a resident of Baigantola village, said, “We live in darkness. We have little hope of light. Electricity reaching the village is like a dream. As soon as evening falls, we light up by burning wood. We like moonlit nights, the village is illuminated on those nights.” The villages dominated by the Baiga tribe in Anuppur district, located about 600 km from the capital Bhopal, are still far from basic facilities. To know about their problems, the team of The Mooknayak reached those areas of Pushparajgarh where the basic facilities provided by the government are still missing.

People of the Baiga community, a special backward caste (PVTGs) of the tribal community, live in Anuppur. There is no road to reach some areas and villages in these areas, one can only reach there on foot. First of all, we reached Gadidadar village under Gram Panchayat Bodha of Pushparajgarh area, the population of this tribal dominated village would be around 900. But no one has seen electricity in this village since the independence of the country.

Talking to The Mooknayak, Indravati, a resident of Gadi Dadar village, says, “Eight years ago I was married to Surendra Singh of this village. And when I reached my in-laws’ house in Gadi Dadar, there was no electricity here. At that time I was told that electricity will come after a few days but now even after 8 years, electricity has not reached the village.”

Other people of the village said that, every time they are told that electricity will come soon but till now there is no news. The villagers allege that whenever elections come, they are promised electricity in their village, but nothing is done. Meanwhile, Panchayat Secretary Nandkishore Sariwan told that poles were installed in this village years ago but electricity has not reached.

After Gadi Dadar, we reached a village in Pushparajgarh area where there is no way for two-wheelers or four-wheelers to go. This village is completely cut off from the urban area. Baigantola village under Guttipara Gram Panchayat is located at a distance of about 5 kilometers from the road. In the two hamlets (villages) situated on the mountain, the basic needs like electricity, water, roads, health and education are far away from the Baiga tribals.

All the houses here are kutcha and hut-like. The population of the village is about 200 people. They are living in two separate hamlets. The people of the village do farming in the ancient method. Apart from this, some people go out of the village to work as laborers. These people met the officials including the public representatives many times to get basic facilities but it was of no use. There is a water problem in the village. Drinking water is being taken here by digging Jhiriya (small pits).

Let us tell you that Jhiriya are natural water sources. Small pits are dug by the villagers below the mountain. They are tied from all sides with the help of big and small stones. Pits about 7-8 feet deep are dug. Natural water from the mountains collects in these pits at night. That is why the people of the village call them Jhiriya.

The villagers use this water. A small ditch is made next to the crevice. In which the excess water is collected. This water is used for drinking by the domestic animals and for farming.

But the water that the villagers are using as drinking water is not completely safe. Due to this, the villagers are falling ill. The village head Daduram Panadia told The Mooknayak that, “The villagers are drinking contaminated water. Due to this, they also fall ill. The head said that many people die only because we are not able to take the patient to the hospital. Baigantola, located between the forest and the mountains, has no road, no electricity and no proper water supply. The people here are completely deprived of these essential basic facilities.”

24-year-old Shamli Bai, a resident of the village, said that she lives in darkness. She has little hope of light. She feels that electricity reaching the village is like a dream. Shamli says that she lights the house every evening by burning wood. But she has to finish her household chores early. It is difficult to do household chores in the dark.

She told that there is a rule in the village that no family can spend unlimited wood. Even if they are getting it for free from the forest. That is why the nights are mostly spent in the dark. Shamli further said, we like moonlit nights. Because during these days the village is lit. “There is no path from the village to the road. No official from the government has ever reached us. Only the Sarpanch and Panchayat Secretary come from the lower village once a month,” Shamli said.

The people of the village have prepared the path themselves

There are two different tolas in Bagantola. To come here, one has to walk about 800 meters from one mountain to another. To make it easy to reach from one place to another, the people of the village have made a path themselves. Gradually, a rough road was made by cutting some parts of the mountain so that the villagers can easily reach from one place to another.

The people of Baigantola are also far from education. However, the Sarpanch Daduram here is educated. Daduram said that he lives in the village on the roadside. Due to which it was easy for him to go to school. But the people of Baigantola are not able to connect with education. The reason for which is the bad road from the village to the road. There is a primary school in the village in which the teachers do not come for many days, the school remains almost closed. After this, for the secondary school, they have to go to village Guttipara. It is difficult for the children to reach there daily.

Courtesy : Hindi News