FARIDABAD/GURUGRAM: Piles of plastic waste are dumped at the entrance to Sikri village in Faridabad. It gets worse as visitors enter the village. Sewage overflows from drains on both sides of the lanes and, in some places, it stands ankle-deep.
Making matters worse, water from cracked pipes runs down to the narrow lanes. A fetid smell pervades the air amid clear signs of open defecation. Swarms of flies only add to the misery.
Sikri makes a mockery of Haryana’s Open Defecation-Free (ODF) status. In 2018, Haryana was adjudged the cleanest state under Swachh Survekshan Grameen. Three districts — Gurugram, Karnal and Rewari — were among the top six districts across the country in terms of cleanliness.
“Swachh Bharat is a failure here. Nobody comes to collect the garbage. There are four people assigned for cleaning the streets, but they rarely turn up. The drains are clogged because there is no way to discharge the waste water,” said Alok Kumar, 42, an unemployed labourer.
Located barely 65 km away from Delhi, Sikri village is primarily a Harijan settlement with a few Rajput residents. The locals complain that the village head did not give them forms for constructing toilets under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.
“Barring 10 or 15, not a single toilet was constructed by the government. We spent our money to build toilets. Those who availed of the scheme are from the upper castes, to which the sarpanch belongs. I had filed an RTI but was advised at the VDO office not to file such things,” Alok added.
Harbhajan Singh, another local, said it was unbearable when it rained, as the drain water entered homes.
“Despite having toilets, we cannot use them properly. So where do we go now? We appealed to the sarpanch many times to make sure that the drains were cleaned, but no action was taken.”
The villagers said open defecation and unhygienic conditions were affecting the health of the residents, particularly the children. Several requests to the VDO officer for a sewage tank were turned down, they alleged.
Khandawli village, further in the interiors, is a bit better off than Sikri, but it does not have a garbage dumping zone.
“Kudha kahi par bhi fek dete hain aur koi uthane aane wala bhi nahi hai (People throw garbage anywhere. Nobody comes to remove it). Maybe once a month they come to collect garbage,” said Rabail Khan, 38, a resident.
Locals admit open defecation is a problem. Awassuddin Khan, 65, said government officials came two years ago and made him sign papers for constructing a toilet, but that was it. Awassuddin and his wife live in a small one-room house which doesn’t have any toilet.
“Moneyed people construct their own toilet, while poor farmers like us use the public toilet. This village has around 300 families. If I am not wrong, 12 houses got toilets built by the government. I don’t know the criteria for selection,” he said.
Blessed, healthy lives?
“Ayushman? Maine ye naam nahi suna hai (Ayushman? I haven’t heard about it before),” said Heena Khan, 26, of Ferozepur village, when asked about the healthcare scheme.
“Ek clinic hai paas mein. Doctor ki biwi ladies ko check karti hai. Bimar hone se wahi jaatein hai (There is a clinic nearby. It is run by a doctor whose wife attends to ladies. We go there. Mostly, we go to the city,” the mother of two added.
In Nuh, ranked as one of the most backward districts in the country, the people don’t have access to even a basic primary healthcare facility. Long stretches of barren lands are sandwiched between small villages.
Truck driver Mohammad Jawed, 38, said the nearest medical facility was nearly 5 km away. “So there is nobody to tell us about the government schemes. The village head is corrupt, while we suffer. We have read about Ayushman Bharat in newspapers, but no one has spoken to us on how to avail of the scheme. In a neighbouring village, some forms were distributed, but I don’t know much,” Jawed, from Kolgaon village, said.