In the Mewat region of Bharatpur, Nagar and Kaman assembly constituencies often leap to the spotlight for the gangs of con artists operating from there, while Bayana constituency keeps in the news for the wickedness of bandits. The Dang region is known for its challenging terrains. But many villages in Mewat are mired in deficiencies in basic facilities at a time when the state government is discussing ‘Vision 2030’.
Gadi Bajna village in Bayana constituency exemplifies the woes plaguing remote parts of the region. This village, some 50 km off Bharatpur town, remains nearly cut off from the outside world and grapples with absence of road connectivity and facilities of education and healthcare. Broken roads lead to the village, and there is hardly any public transport bus or local transport vehicle, as TOI found out during a recent visit.
On a crisp autumn afternoon, the women of Gadi Bajna village stood around a common well to get drinking water. There was a power cut in the village. The women were full of resentment about the frequent power outages in this village dominated by the Gurjar community.
“Bijli free hai, par aati hi kitni hai? (Electricity is free, but where is the supply?),” asked Ramesh Gurjar, an 18-year-old student who studies at Bayana, a town 35 km off the village. He was referring to the state government’s scheme of subsidised power supply.
Niranjan Singh Gurjar, a villager who retired as a subedar major, narrated what he called the government’s “lackadaisical attitude” to education in rural areas. “We have a government school here, but teachers used to remain absent for months till 2013, and our children were deprived of education. My efforts changed things, but the school has poor strength and poor results,” he said.
Gurjar said he had taken up the matter of the teachers’ wilful absence with the district officials and given a representation to the CM. “For the initial three years, the school ran well. It was upgraded from Class X to Class XII. But teachers who were unwilling to come to the school lodged a fake case against me. Not everything is right with the school even now,” he added.
Villagers attribute bad road connectivity to illegal mining. “People engaged in illegal mining do not want good roads. They oppose it,” said Vishvendra Gurjar, a grocery shop owner.
Gadi Bajna village in Bayana constituency exemplifies the woes plaguing remote parts of the region. This village, some 50 km off Bharatpur town, remains nearly cut off from the outside world and grapples with absence of road connectivity and facilities of education and healthcare. Broken roads lead to the village, and there is hardly any public transport bus or local transport vehicle, as TOI found out during a recent visit.
On a crisp autumn afternoon, the women of Gadi Bajna village stood around a common well to get drinking water. There was a power cut in the village. The women were full of resentment about the frequent power outages in this village dominated by the Gurjar community.
“Bijli free hai, par aati hi kitni hai? (Electricity is free, but where is the supply?),” asked Ramesh Gurjar, an 18-year-old student who studies at Bayana, a town 35 km off the village. He was referring to the state government’s scheme of subsidised power supply.
Niranjan Singh Gurjar, a villager who retired as a subedar major, narrated what he called the government’s “lackadaisical attitude” to education in rural areas. “We have a government school here, but teachers used to remain absent for months till 2013, and our children were deprived of education. My efforts changed things, but the school has poor strength and poor results,” he said.
Gurjar said he had taken up the matter of the teachers’ wilful absence with the district officials and given a representation to the CM. “For the initial three years, the school ran well. It was upgraded from Class X to Class XII. But teachers who were unwilling to come to the school lodged a fake case against me. Not everything is right with the school even now,” he added.
Villagers attribute bad road connectivity to illegal mining. “People engaged in illegal mining do not want good roads. They oppose it,” said Vishvendra Gurjar, a grocery shop owner.
