Relief a mirage for drought-hit villagers

bellary: when chief minister s.m. krishna toured back-of-beyond villages of the arid bellary district on july 27, he probably didn't get any first-hand information about the drought situation. besides the all-too-evident photo-op, he would not have been able to grasp the nettle. this is more than borne out by a visit to three villages that figured prominently in the july itinerary of the chief minister, who was accompanied by deputy commissioner and other district-level officers.a virtual avalanche of promises were showered on drought-stricken agricultural farmers in sanjeevarayana kote, mincheri and halkundi villages in the district. much-publicised among them were "scarcity work" and setting up fodder banks. however, the result, after the lapse of a good three-week, is too distressing. here's a case-by-case study: mincheri: in a bid to provide employment to agricultural farmers, the authorities had taken up the construction of 3-km-long kutcha road and work on a dried tank. july 31, day one of the project, 146 labourers were pressed into work; the second day, 284; the third day, 372. problems started cropping up from august 3, the fourth day. revenue officials refused to employ the people. when they did, either they were asked to work only for half a day or face a severe cut in payment. the reason cited was "lack of funds". not just that, the authorities asked the workers to accept a pay of rs 30 a day against the promised rs 46.25. when the villagers refused to kowtow to the diktat, the authorities declared that payment for two-and-a-half days will be stalled. also, the revenue officials refused to rope in people either below 18 years of age or "too old" to work. after the "identification" process, the village authorities listed out 805 people "fit enough" to slug it out in searing heat. gram panchayat president m. raja sab said two truckloads of fodder were distributed in the village for 1,800 heads of cattle. while doing so, the officials failed to distribute fodder to the cattle in dire need of it. if a goshala is set up in the village, it will cater to the needs of at least 3-4 villages in the vicinity. sanjeevarayana kote: the task: laying of 5-km-long cherrakunte-sanjeevarayana kote-bellary road. the project that was kicked off with much fanfare did not see even the second day of its work, thanks to a dispute among villagers over the work. without even trying to break the deadlock, the authorities cried a halt. that's that. the authorities failed to respond to villagers' appeals. never mind the hungry stomachs. a villager said: ``it was all stage-managed. when it was announced that the chief minister was visiting the village, revenue officials quickly drew up a plan to lay kutcha road and roped in some 70 labourers. the chief minister launched the scarcity programme on july 28. the very next day, no official turned up at the village.'' incidentally, the kote area falls under kurugodu assembly constituency represented by kpcc president allum veerabhadrappa. halkundi: under the scarcity programme, the joy of getting two square meals a day was shortlived for the villagers. a joy that lasted eight days. work on the construction of 2-km-long road and tank bed was cut short owing to paucity of funds. ``work will be resumed once we get fresh loan,'' gram panchayat president g. thimmana gowda said. work on the drainage, which again was to be showcased to the visiting chief minister, has been kept in abeyance. gowda said the revenue officials had promised to supply 7 kg of fodder for each animal a day for 60 days. they had even listed out the cattle. till date, some 1,500 heads of cattle were starving. what is even more shocking is the fact that the chief minister was taken to these villages as they are easily approachable by road, thanks to a giant steel factory in the vicinity. and the villages are located close to bangalore highway. janata dal (united) general secretary n. pratap reddy, also the former chairman of bellary urban development authority, feared if this was the state of affairs in the villages inspected by the chief minister, then those which are remote defied one's imagination and also understanding. hunger knows no pathos.