UP: “Live in our houses and see!”—People of the Dalit-Tribal Colony of Rampur Kala asked the administration, when will our voice be heard?

Residents of the Dalit and Tribal Colony of Rampur Kala village in Saharanpur have taken the government and administration to task and said, “Live in our houses and see, then you will know in what conditions we are forced to live.” The people of this locality, who have been facing the problem of waterlogging for the last several months, say that their complaints are being constantly ignored.

Geetha Sunil Pillai

Saharanpur- The Dalit and Tribal locality of Rampur Kala village in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh has been a victim of administrative neglect for more than a year.

The problem of waterlogging here has made the people’s life miserable, the demonstrations and complaints lodged regarding the problems of about 100 Dalit and tribal families have not reached the ears of the administration. The people of this colony, who are facing the serious problem of waterlogging, say that their voice is being deliberately ignored because this is a Dalit and tribal colony. The villagers have raised the question that is there no official left to listen to the problems of Dalit and tribal colonies?

The Dalit colony located in the west and south of the village is not able to drain out. Earlier this water used to go to the fields of the village, but now the farmers of the nearby fields have blocked the path of the water by using JCB to save their crops. Due to this, water has started filling in the colony itself. The villagers say that if a pipeline or cement drain is made from the colony to the pond, then the water can drain out easily. But the village head and administrative officials have not taken any step in this direction till now.

People do not want to give their daughters in this colony and the residents of the colony are not able to welcome the wedding procession on the marriage of their daughters.

The Mooknayak tried to know the problem of the residents.

Due to waterlogging, dirty water has accumulated in the settlement, which has increased the foul smell and mosquito menace. Villagers say that children have difficulty going to school due to the mud filled in the water.

Women also have to struggle to get vegetables and ration. 65-year-old Usharani says, “We women face the most problems. It is difficult to walk in water, but we have to do the household work.”

The risk of waterborne diseases has also increased. Sangeeta Devi, a housewife living here, said that diseases like diarrhea, vomiting and fever have become common. Lokesh Maurya, former village head, says, “When the water gets too much, we have to pump out the water with a submersible pump. But this is not a permanent solution.”

Women also have to struggle to get vegetables and ration.

Waterlogging has also affected the social life of the villagers. 70-year-old Rajpal Singh, who retired from the irrigation department, says that recently a wedding took place in his family, but due to waterlogging, only 50 people could attend the wedding procession. He said, “People could not stand on the road, so we had to reduce the number of guests.” Vipin Kumar Singh, who is a clerk in the Central Railway and is currently posted in Pune, says, “I come to my village three times a year, but every time the same problem is seen. Here families have started facing problems in fixing marriages for their children. People do not want to give their daughters in this locality and the residents of the locality are not able to welcome the wedding procession on the marriage of their daughters – in the long term the problem has started taking a big form but the officials do not listen at all, if people of upper caste lived here, this problem would have ended long ago, but the administration has not taken any action on our complaints till now.” Due to waterlogging, dirty water has accumulated in the colony, due to which the foul smell and mosquito menace has increased. Villagers say that children have difficulty going to school due to the mud in the water.

On the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti recently, the administration pumped out two tankers of water to avoid public outrage, but it was only a temporary solution. Villagers say they want a permanent solution. The land of the village society is lying vacant, but upper caste Hindus have occupied it and the authorities are unable to take any action in this matter. Bhim Army activist Praveen Khurana says that the permanent solution is to take the water to the pond located outside the village by laying a pipeline from the colony.

The Mooknayak tried to contact the Saharanpur collector through email and WhatsApp on the issue of Dalit and tribal families not being heard but no response was received. The report will be updated after getting a response from the DM.

Courtesy: Hindi News