Poor-Condition-of-Electricity-One-of-the-Major-Reasons-Behind-Deserted-Villages-and-Over-Crowded-Cities.Mine is one of the most fertile, and prosperous districts in Uttar Pradesh, and yet, the current situation of villages in that area is worrisome.
If Indian economy depends on its villages, then probably, we are heading in the wrong direction.
There’s was a time when being a farmer used to be a respectable thing. Villages used to glow with happiness and joy, because the youth had no intention of abandoning them. Very few people left their homes.
Then, after some years, things started changing. Many young people left their homes, and migrated to cities. The situation now has become really bad.
Most of the young boys have migrated to Delhi or elsewhere, because they don’t see any future in villages. There are many reasons behind this. But, the major reason is poor condition of electricity supply, and lack of will or planning to improve the condition.
Most of the villages in my area receive only 7-8 hours of electricity, and that too is not certain. Sometimes, you may have to do without electricity for 4-5 days straight.
The implications?
You cannot study when you need to (I have seen students in villages study in kerosene lamp’s light)
You have to eat food in dark.
You cannot sleep peacefully in summers, because without electricity, the electric fans are useless (and for how long can one use the hand-fans anyway, you can either keep the hand-fan in momentum or sleep. Both are not possible at the same time)
(I recently saw a small baby having heat-rashes on her entire body in a Faizallapur village in Baghpat. It was horrible)
Farmers face a really hard time irrigating their fields, especially in summers, which, ultimately affects production (not to mention the negative impact it has on GDP)
You cannot even think of setting up your own small business, or for that matter, any business that requires electricity (and If I am not wrong, most of the businesses require electricity)
There was a young talented tailor in my village. He used to stitch wonderful clothes. I had got many trousers and shirts stitched by him. He used to ask me if I can offer him some help in terms of getting some tailoring work in Delhi.
I asked him why he wanted to leave his home, and work in Delhi. He replied “Brother, I want to grow my work. But here, in village, I cannot even imagine that. We get only 7-8 hours electricity, and there are times when there’s no power supply for 4-5 days in a row. I need to iron clothes after stitching. Customers complain, and many of them don’t come to me again because of that unnecessary delay. I want to leave. Can’t take it anymore.”
When I visited him next time, he was gone. He left the village, and went to Uttrakhand to find work.
In village, he was owner of his shop. Now, he works as a laborer in some garment export factory.
It’s ironic!
And this is just one story, there are thousands of another such stories buried in the villages of Western UP-untold, unheard of.
Lack of proper electricity is forcing people to migrate to cities, and in result the cities are becoming over-crowded. Shortage of drinking water, traffic jams, overloaded sewage systems, pollution…the problems are on rise in cities.
Lack of proper electricity children are not able to read.
Go to any village in western UP, and you’ll find many homes either vacant or half-vacant, and the situation is worsening with each passing day.
I belong to a small village in Muzaffarnagar district of Western Uttar Pradesh, India.
Mine is one of the most fertile, and prosperous districts in Uttar Pradesh, and yet, the current situation of villages in that area is worrisome.
If Indian economy depends on its villages, then probably, we are heading in the wrong direction.
There’s was a time when being a farmer used to be a respectable thing. Villages used to glow with happiness and joy, because the youth had no intention of abandoning them. Very few people left their homes.
Then, after some years, things started changing. Many young people left their homes, and migrated to cities. The situation now has become really bad.
Most of the young boys have migrated to Delhi or elsewhere, because they don’t see any future in villages. There are many reasons behind this. But, the major reason is poor condition of electricity supply, and lack of will or planning to improve the condition.
Most of the villages in my area receive only 7-8 hours of electricity, and that too is not certain. Sometimes, you may have to do without electricity for 4-5 days straight.
The implications?
You cannot study when you need to (I have seen students in villages study in kerosene lamp’s light)
You have to eat food in dark.
You cannot sleep peacefully in summers, because without electricity, the electric fans are useless (and for how long can one use the hand-fans anyway, you can either keep the hand-fan in momentum or sleep. Both are not possible at the same time)
(I recently saw a small baby having heat-rashes on her entire body in a Faizallapur village in Baghpat. It was horrible)
Farmers face a really hard time irrigating their fields, especially in summers, which, ultimately affects production (not to mention the negative impact it has on GDP)
You cannot even think of setting up your own small business, or for that matter, any business that requires electricity (and If I am not wrong, most of the businesses require electricity)
There was a young talented tailor in my village. He used to stitch wonderful clothes. I had got many trousers and shirts stitched by him. He used to ask me if I can offer him some help in terms of getting some tailoring work in Delhi.
I asked him why he wanted to leave his home, and work in Delhi. He replied “Brother, I want to grow my work. But here, in village, I cannot even imagine that. We get only 7-8 hours electricity, and there are times when there’s no power supply for 4-5 days in a row. I need to iron clothes after stitching. Customers complain, and many of them don’t come to me again because of that unnecessary delay. I want to leave. Can’t take it anymore.”
When I visited him next time, he was gone. He left the village, and went to Uttrakhand to find work.
In village, he was owner of his shop. Now, he works as a laborer in some garment export factory.
It’s ironic!
And this is just one story, there are thousands of another such stories buried in the villages of Western UP-untold, unheard of.
Lack of proper electricity is forcing people to migrate to cities, and in result the cities are becoming over-crowded. Shortage of drinking water, traffic jams, overloaded sewage systems, pollution…the problems are on rise in cities.
Go to any village in western UP, and you’ll find many homes either vacant or half-vacant, and the situation is worsening with each passing day.
- See more at: http://www.avdhessharya.com/poor-condition-of-electricity-one-of-the-major-reasons-behind-deserted-villages-and-over-crowded-cities/#sthash.640tTtxe.dpuf
No comments:
Post a Comment