Indra’s Drishtikona (Viewpoint)

PURA (Providing Urban-amenities in Rural Areas)

Posted : July 30, 2004 at 10:05 am [IST]

What are the urban facilities that one need in rural areas that can make it attractive enough for a person of rural origin working in urban area to settle down there instead of selecting the urban area for permanent settlement? Why do the most of the educated lots prefer to live in town? Is it for the materialistic facilities such as cable TV, internet surfing, refrigerator, cooler and air-conditioner, newspapers and news magazines or something else? If every thing goes alright in some years all the villages will be connected with metalled roads. The rural electrification will cover all the villages. You can always arrange good water on your own with a motorized pump and adding some small reverse-osmosis equipment. I have number of friends even here in Noida who are still having connections with their villages not very far away from here. But they have made Noida as a place of permanent settlement and they do not like to go back to their villages.

I remember with a pain the story of my house in my maternal village. My mother inherited a lot of landed property. She wanted us to make her village our permanent residence. She had her inherited house but it was inside of the village. There was a good plot on the western outskirt of the village. To fulfill her wish and because of a natural attraction to live in village for some time in a year, I agreed and built a fairly good house with all facilities. It served its purpose till my parents lived there. But then they joined me as my father fell ill and I was the only child. After they departed for ever, it became very difficult to maintain the property and the house. Many of the relations were envy of the property. At one time I wanted to donate the property to some good institutions for some good cause like opening a school or women welfare centre. But all who came wanted to grab that for themselves. I had to sell the same at almost no price for its value. None of the relatives- uncles or brother-in-laws provided any assistance. For the first time I felt it badly. I had to leave the village.

It is unfortunate that we are trying to provide the materialistic facilities to rural areas. Over the years all the good things of the village life is disappearing. Community feeling has vanished. Political parties based on castes have done the maximum damage. People are envious of each other. They do not bother if they are poor because of their own shortcomings but they will not like any one else who lives a good life with honest means of earnings and hard labour. All the religious festivals have lost its charm. Even in Holi and Diwali, people do not meet and celebrate it in group. Those folk music and Ramayan singings are no more there. Temple remains desolate. No one goes to the wrestling centres. Most of the population does not get any type of health checks. With manual labour reducing, the people are getting lazy. There must be revitalisation of the social activities in villages, if PURA is to be successful to keep the population in village.

- Indra

Category: Rural development |