BEAUTY IN RUINS – The Heart Breaking Story of Pokhreybong Gram Panchayat, Gorubathan TheDC Exclusive It has been 67 years since India became Independent; people living in Pokhreybong GP of Gorubathan Block are still devoid of electricity, drinking water, basic health and proper education system. But those are just the immediate issues that the locals so readily share, but the list of woes does not end there; those are just the beginning of the depravity that people in this beautiful land have to endure every day. We bring to you the story of Pokhreybong GP, by far one of the most picturesque yet one of the most neglected areas in Darjeeling. THE PEOPLE and THE PLACE Like much of rural Darjeeling, people who live under Pokhreybong GP which constitutes the villages of Lungsel, Mangazing, Mangar Gaon, and Pubung, live a very difficult life. Most of the people work in the farms and agriculture is their main source of subsistence. The main produce from this area are Kuccho (local broomsticks), Ginger, and Cardamom, out of which most of the households depend on Kuccho as their main source of income – around Rs 30000 per year, and grow Paddy (rice), Maize and vegetables on terraced farms which provide them food for their sustenance. Majority of the people living here belong to the Scheduled Tribe category with – Limbus, Tamangs and Lepchas making up majority of the population. There are approximately 900 households and the total population of the GP according to 2011 census stood at 3362 individuals. The Pokhreybung Gram Panchayat comes under the Noam Forest Range and is spread to an area of 4393.20 acres. The villages are picturesque and are typical Terai village from where the lowlands of Dooars can be seen. The villages sit in the middle of forest, which are home to many endemic and native species of plants, trees, fauna and flora. This place is so serene and beautiful, and yet so neglected and deprived THE LET DOWN Pokhreybung by no means is remote. It actually sits in the middle of many prominent places, yet it is isolated due to government apathy and neglect. None of the governments – be it West Bengal, earlier DGHC, or currently GTA have done anything for the region. Yet the people have no means of complaining. Such is the apathy that it has been 67 years since our Independence, yet this Gram Panchayat is yet to get a proper road or electricity connection. In 2011, the government of India approved the construction of a 15 km road from Pubung to Lungsel under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in 2010-11, the budget for this scheme was pegged at Rs 9 core. After the project was approved, a board had been placed in Leti Khola and it has been sitting there covered by vines and shrubs for the past 4 years, yet there is no road. Speaking to TheDC a local resident informed us that, “the project was awarded to a contractor from Kalimpong Mr. Ashok Garg... we were all very happy... it has now been 4 years, now we have only the board and a kacchha road ... I think the fund has been diverted somewhere else...” A road – if you can call levelled field a road – does connect the two places, but you ride a vehicle at your own risk. The road conditions are so bad that ordinary vehicles cannot ply on the road, only 4 wheelers manage to run, and the conditions are so dangerous that majority of the people prefer to walk, rather than travel by vehicles and risk death. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a local informs is, “Nothing has been done only once or twice a rough cutting was undertaken... due to this the shape of a rough road did emerge but that’s where they left it... the administration and those in power hardly visit our area...” We are not surprised! NO HEALTH FACILITIES – NO ELECTRICITY What was the most painful for us to digest was the fact that there is no health facility provided to the people. For the sake of a token they have what is called a “Sub-Centre” which is attended by a Health worker (Female)/ANM. However most of the treatment is instructed over the phone, as the health worker cannot travel to all the villages due to lack of proper roads. The nearest health centres are located at Gorubathan which lies 13km away and Malbazar which lies 28km away. If there is a medical emergency, more often than not the person dies. Speaking with us, an elderly lady says, “it’s very difficult... mainly to the delivering mothers and old aged people... we are left at the mercy of God... can you imagine, till date none of the ‘Matriyan’ which provides free ambulance and health care to pregnant women has ever visited our place? How can they come? There are no roads... when someone is sick these patients have to be carried by people for at least 10 to 15 km to get to the ambulance.” And ruefully she adds “Bigog chha nani hamro taa...” It is not surprising that people go off to sleep early in Pokhriyabong GP, there is no electricity connection in the Panchayat. What breaks one’s heart is the fact that all of the nearby villages that are in Kalimpong – like Nimbong, or Patharjhora in Malbazar blocks have electricity and people can see the lights, but cannot turn one on. Those who are slightly well off, have bought for themselves Solar panels which lights up 4 lights/rooms, but that is a luxury only a very few can afford. Out of 900 families, only about 30 to 40 might have solar lights, rest of the people depend on Dhibri, Laltin or Candles to fight the darkness. We are left wondering, if individuals can afford to put solar panels, why is the Government lacking behind? Moreover, Nimbong on the Kalimpong side which is across the river has electricity connection, why is Pokhreybung still deprived? No roads, no health care, no electricity – imagine how students in these villages must cope? What chance will they have in life, competing against those who complete their education from St. Joseph’s, St. Paul’s, Loreto, St. Helen’s, DGH, SAS and so on? There is a primary school and a junior high school, the so called Upper Primary school is mostly being run by the volunteer teachers, as the West Bengal government and the GTA are yet to implement SSC for the GTA region. While the administration talks big and claims to turn Darjeeling into Switzerland – our children do not even have proper school buildings or teachers to teach them. Every day student’s have to talk about 10 kilometres to their school and back, will these students even have the energy or will to come home and study more? Dont be surprised if you dont find many youth here... most have gone out to bigger cities like Chennai, Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai, Bangalore in search of better opportunities. But with the kind of education that they are given, what kind of work can they expect to get, even in these bigger cities? ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION It is but natural that bad things will happen in the cover of Darkness. Pokhriyabong GP and its nearby areas are no exception. On our way in to the village we had seen these sand bags neatly lined up on the road side, and we has assumed that they were sands being taken somewhere for construction. On arrival we enquired one of the locals as to what they were, they gave us worrisome looks, yet one of them replied, “Koila” (Coal). It wasn’t too difficult for us to understand what was in those sacks, we had seen similar sacks as these in Tindharey. The locals in Pokhreybung were illegally mining the dust coal. When probed further one of the locals informed us that, “People mine the coal and sell it to the middlemen... the locals risk their life and make peanuts, while the middlemen make big bucks... one bag of dust coal sells for about Rs 15-25 locally... the middlemen then take it down to Odlabari and the same sack of coal sells for Rs 90 per bag.. but what happens after that.. I am not aware...” A few people we talked to said the ‘coal’ is in fact smuggled into Bhutan and Bangladesh. This got us thinking, as Rs 90 per bag is a bit much for a bag of coal, so we probed around, until one older lady said – “koila khali haina.. dolomite panee khan-cha... its not just the coal that they mine... but they mine dolomite as well.”Dolomite is the primary ingredient used to produce Cement, and this makes sense, as Bhutan has a huge demand for dolomite for their cement factories, while mining dolomite has been banned by the Forest department in Bengal. But the most visible form of environmental degradation is seen in the form of Deforestation. Speaking to us, a young local activist said, “see locals don’t have any option... there is no employment opportunities here... so they make use of the local resources... a good night’s work felling tree fetches around Rs 1000... so they cut trees and sell it in every form – some sell it as logs, some sell as fire wood and some even sell Gutkas (wood chips)...” As a result of deforestation, the locals are feeling increasing instances of water shortages, and if care is not taken then Pokhriyabong GP much like Darjeeling town will face a full blown Water Crisis. Most of the water is gravity drive, and till date the government has not provided any drinking water scheme since early 1980s. They have cut so many trees.. and dug so much for the coal that someday all of Noam forest will disappear... bhasincha... tells an elderly lady. Yet the locals are all weary of each other, all the people we talked to, did so only after we promised complete anonymity. This fear of each other emanates from the fact that most of the people live a subsistence livelihood and are dependent on their neighbours for their substance and support. Since many individuals are involved in one form or another of illegal business – be it mining or tree harvesting, those who raise their voices and whistleblowers are not looked upon kindly, the threat of a ‘social boycott’ is always looming large POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES When one sees how picturesque this entire region is, one fails to understand why our land, place and people are so deprived. We are blessed with nature’s bounty, and all we need to do is channelize our natural beauty, biodiversity and resources into promoting sustainable development. All the villages in Pokhreybung GP are gorgeous and home-stay, village and eco-tourism initiatives can be easily implemented here. The fact that this place is so isolated makes it really attractive to the niche group of tourists, who prefer natural beauty and solitude to eating McDonalds Burgers and Pizzas. If the locals here are trained and provided proper avenues for channelling their Poultry, Dairy and Farm products (which are ORGANIC) by default, there is no reason why they cannot compete with AMUL? Local youths are hard working and they can be trained to produce and harvest Non-Timber Forest Products and Medicinal Plants which are in high demand world over. Local handloom and handicraft cooperatives and other such alternative sources of livelihood and income generation can be promoted. Ours is a land blessed by nature... let us all come forward to take care of it. ....................................... TheDC editorial note: We are most thankful to one individual, whose name sadly we cannot share, for helping us to see the beauty of Pokhreybung GP and appraised us on the challenges facing the locals.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 20:37:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015