Monsoon brings MP villagers in the same boat

BHOPAL: A boat is the lifeline of a non-descript village, Naubai, in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh. It's not a fishing village, nor is it close to the sea, but life remains afloat on boats for four months of a year. Come monsoon, the village will be marooned in the absence of roads. And this is the grim reality of not just Naubai, but more than 2,000 villages in Madhya Pradesh even 65 years after independence.Roads are yet to be laid in large swathes of the state.
Monsoon sparks dread in Naubai, particularly among women. From bringing vegetables to attending nature's call, they depend on boats. "The village is devoid of benefits of government schemes. It lacks basic infrastructure, including roads and toilets, and is cut off from the rest of the world when it rains. Even to buy groceries or taking patients to hospitals, we depend on boats. Risking life and dignity, women, who don't have toilets at home, attend nature's call on boats," says Arvind Dangi of Naubai village.
About 1,000 families live in Naubai which comes under Khiria Sahab village panchayat.
"Life is miserable after a few bouts of rain. Even officials and local representatives are aware of the problem, but no one is doing anything. We are told to shift to higher ground, but this is easier said than done as many families have been living here for centuries. Why can't authorities just build a bridge, instead of asking us to leave," said Khiria Sahab village sarpanch Raghuveer Singh Dangi, 65.
Naubai is not the only village which dreads monsoon due to lack of roads. Road construction work has not even started in 2,100 villages, according to official data.
Officials said 2,000 out of 4,135 villages, which don't have roads have been covered. Work is in progress to connect around 1,600 villages which started last year, they said.
"At least 2,000 villages have been covered under various schemes and involvement of several departments in one year," chief executive officer of Madhya Pradesh Rural Road Development Authority Alka Upadhyay told TOI.
"Only about 2,148 villages are without road connectivity and we are sending proposal to Union government for sanctioning funds," she said.