Hindutva? How about water & power

JASDAN, Rajkot: Voters in rural Rajkot are likely to give a “back to the basics� lesson to politicians who come seeking votes shortly. Mention Hindutva and you get a dismissive wave of the hand from the farmers of this groundnut bowl of the country.
It’s basic issues like water, electricity, roads and health facilities that they’d rather talk about.While people are fed up with drinking water scarcity and power shortage, they’ve decided to confront the candidates once the grind of the campaign starts.
It is in these areas that people sabotage water supply lines leading to the cities and attack Gujarat Electricity Board offices when their fields go dry as the pumps are starved for power. They are an aggressive lot who won’t be swayed by promises.
Residents of the villages of Kanesar, Gondladhar and Lakhawad in Jasdan taluka, besides the town itself, have decided to take an assurance from the candidates that unless they solve these issues before the dawn of 2003, they will not be allowed to enter the villages anymore.
Says Jyotsnaben Kanabar, a 38-year-old resident of Kanesar, “Those who sit in air-conditioned offices in Gandhinagar don’t know what the water problem is all about or what it’s like to get power for just three hours a day.� She says women have to walk three to four km a day just to get a bucket of drinking water. “Even our children have to trudge along with buckets.�
Karsan Ghela Patel of Lakhawad says, “Do not talk of Hindutva. We have been staying as one big family for the past 40 years and there has been no problem. Please don’t bring that menace to our doorstep.�
Jina Jiva Kavda of Lakhawad is surprised that Jasdan taluka has not yet been declared drought-affected despite the scanty rainfall. Kurjibhai, the sarpanch of Dhedhuki with a population of 1,600, says, “The village has no water supply lines. At most places people and animals share the source of water. Besides, with this year’s crop failure many are awaiting the crop insurance money.�
Ori sarpanch Govind Shavshi Valani says, “The people are caught in a debt trap. They have been paying an interest as high as 10 per cent per month because of the crop failure.� In Jasdan town, most areas are supplied water through tankers. In some cases water flows in the tap just twice a month and that too is unsafe for human consumption as it stinks. “But we still drink it as otherwise our women will have to trek four to five km in search of water,� says a resident.
Kuverji Bavalia, legislator from Jasdan, says, “The situation is so precarious that the people are on the verge of migrating.� The promised Narmada water has yet to quench the thirst of Jasdan.
According to Bavalia, “Most of the time power is supplied late in the night when the farmers are scared to venture into their fields as they fear that they might get bitten by a snake or scorpion.�
Many say they can’t tolerate the sight of politicians. “Either provide us with the basic facilities or don’t come seeking our support. If God has given us birth he’ll look after us too. Don’t try to play God and then forsake us for five years,� says 80-year-old Kanabhai Ahir of Jasdan.