Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Mar 2: The news of social welfare minister, Anjaneya's village stay programme at Muroor in Kaltodu in the taluk on the new year eve, January 1, 2017, had made headlines at the state level. A grand programme had been organized in that village, and it seemed like the entire government machinery had got shifted to this tiny village for a day. All the government officials right from the deputy commissioner of the district, had spent an entire day there.

It has been two months since the minister visited the village and doled out promises. The village has not witnessed any change, and none of the problems of Marli Koragas, for meeting of which the village stay programme had been organized, have been met. The disillusioned villagers are heard murmuring that the minister's village stay programme was just an eyewash.

The bridge that proposed to provide connectivity to Koraga Colony in Muroor, which had stopped halfway, was noticed by the minister. He had ordered for completion of the bridge immediately. However, the bridge stands as it is, at half-finished stage. After the minister went back, no one has looked at this bridge.

During his stay here, the minister had laid foundation stone for the proposed community hall at Muroor. The land had been levelled for the purpose, and the minister had urged officials to finish the work without delay. He also had wanted hand looms to be set up to provide self employment to Koragas. Since the foundation stone was laid, only this stone stands as a testimony for the promises made then, as nothing has moved an inch ever since. The hall was to house the hand looms to provide work for locals. The locals are at a loss whom to approach to get these promises met.

Near the house where the minister had stayed overnight, three houses of Koraga families had been stranded at half-completed stage since many years. The minister had seen them and ordered for completing them without delay. However, all these three families continue to live in their tiny thatched huts.These families say that officials of integrated tribal development project had visited them once. The families do not know how to face rainy season with their tiny thatched huts.

All the problems of the village including drinking water have remained at the stage they were in before the minister visited the village. The minister was also requested to provide title deeds to a family which was deprived of it, supply of three-phase electricity to the village, and repairing of Kappady school which is about to crash to the ground. They had also sought repair of the mud road leaidng to the colony from the main road. The minister had nodded and asked the officials to meet these demands. The officials too had nodded but did nothing else thereafter.

The villagers here want to know whether the promises doled out during the village stays of ministers are confined to speeches. Promises of asphalting of road, completing of bridge, building of hall, opening of self employment centre, streamlining of power supply, completion of half-constructed houses, drinking water, and other demands had been made and the minister had promised to meet them. He had stressed that his visit was not perfunctory but backed with the specific purpose of improving living conditions. He had said that Muroor would soon turn into a model colony. Not a stone has moved since the minister said so, and the high hopes of the villagers of seeing transformation of their village are evaporating.