True to its name, Bhikaripur (land of beggars) is deprived of basic amenities. Toilets and electricity are luxuries for the 3,000 penury-stricken inhabitants of the village, 20 km away from Varanasi.
Why is Bhikaripur so backward? The lone customer at the tea stall has the answer. “Jayapur has Modi’s aashirwaad. We don’t.” The villagers are right. The slushy road with potholes suddenly turns smooth, indicating our entry into the VIP-class village, Jayapur. Located in the Sevapuri Assembly segment, Jayapur was adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.
Like an oasis in a desert, Jayapur stands out from nearby villages. It is the only village in the region to have a host of amenities: two banks, bio-toilets, solar-powered streetlights and to top it all, a wi-fi hotspot.
There are 25 bio-toilets, serving every family here. “We did not have toilets earlier. Just like people in the nearby villages, our women and children were forced to defecate in the open,” says Raghubeer, a farmer. “Now, we have bio-toilets that are easy to maintain and saves us the embarrassment.”
A kiosk which will serve as a wi-fi zone has come up right in the centre of the village and it will be operational in the next few days. About 145 solar street lights have been installed and there is also a proposal for a solar pump.
The inhabitants take Modi’s Swachh Bharat call seriously and clean their village, instead of safai karamcharis. However, Jayapur doesn’t get electricity for five to six hours at a stretch each day.
The picture-perfect Jayapur has its own share of politics between BJP and the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) government. While a majority were all praise for the Centre, some SP cadres are allegedly creating hurdles by damaging the bio-toilets.