LUCKNOW: Bhartaul in Bithiri Chainpur block of Bareilly district has achieved the distinction of becoming UP’s first village where each household is being supplied RO water. Having won the awards like Central government’s Pandit Deen Dayal Uapdhyaya Panchayat Sashaktikaran and Chief Minister Panchayat Encouragement award with award money to the tune of Rs 12 lakh each, Bhartaul village is being equipped with 20 ROs (water purifiers) with Gram Nidhi (Village Allowance).
“So far, five ROs have been installed and each has been connected with the water tank meant for supply,” says village head Pravesh Kumari who used the award money in getting the ROs installed and getting a village secretariat building constructed.
The village has a population of around 7,000 with 40 per cent of it being in the Indian Army. The village has a total of 850 houses of which 350 are owned by Armymen who are deployed in different parts of the country but their families stay in Bhartaul.
Installation of each RO has cost Rs 75,000. The village has a primary school where education is imparted to the students in the English medium. The village is also identified by its upmarket and well-maintained community toilets. Each house has its own toilet and 275 streets have turned into pucca roads.
Bhartaul gram panchayat has made adequate arrangements for the security of the villagers with round-the-clock vigil through CCTVs with a control room in the middle of the village. The village has a door-to-door garbage collection and separation system.
“We have provided almost all the basic amenities to the villagers. Installation of RO, setting up the garbage collection system and a respectable primary school, all are part of our efforts. Bhartaul villagers are very sensitive to cleanliness. It is a model gram panchayat,” says Pravesh Kumari, the village
head. She adds that with a branch of the bank in the village now she is focusing to make
the village women self-reliant.
“In our village, 11 self-help groups have 120 women are involved in the cottage industry making various products,” says Pravesh Kumari.