Why attendance is the golden word in schools of rural Uttar Pradesh

Concerted efforts have increased enrolment rates, but non-attendance of students due to familial responsibilities has marred their educational progress   Unnao, Uttar Pradesh: Only 21 students are enrolled in the Koratganj Mehandi Nagar Upper Primary School at Sikanderpur Karan block of Unnao district. Of the total 12 boys present is Shuyash Yadav* (13), studying in class 8. There are only four students in Shuyash's class — a clear pointer to what is wrong with the education system in Uttar Pradesh.   The school is just 700 m away from Shuyash's house. Yet, attending classes daily seems like a big challenge as Shuyash is the eldest child in the family. His father works in a brick kiln in Punjab, so he has to be there for his mother and younger brother.Shuyash has great difficulty reading the four letter words in his Hindi textbook. Mathematics and English are beyond his comprehension. Ask why, and Shuyash's mother Gudiya Devi (36) expresses her helplessness. “I do not know what to do. There is no progress even after going to school. How will he learn without being taught something?  The teacher comes to school to take some rest. No one tries to teach the children, they just sit and have fun,” alleges Gudiya, who has studied till class 8. When asked about this, Principal Shiv Pratap Yadav tells 101Reporters that the educational standards of weak students will improve only when the teachers and parents work together. "Children not coming to school regularly is a big challenge. When parents are contacted, they also hesitate to come to school," he says. Saurabh Kumar* (11) of Ramsingh Kheda village in Bichhiya block is a class 6 student of the upper primary school at Behta Nathai Singh, located one-and-a-half km away from his house. There are 36 students in Saurabh’s class, but only 25 or 30 attend. After returning from school, Saurabh has to take the goats for grazing. His father Kallu Prasad (38) goes out for work as a brick kiln labourer at the break of the dawn itself. Being the eldest of his three children, Saurabh has the responsibility of taking care of siblings at home when his mother Nisha Devi (36) finds work in the fields. He goes to school only on those days when his mother is at home.When asked to translate the sentence ‘yeh mera school hai’ to English, he simply smiled and replied, “nahin aata hai [I do not know].” As if to reason out, he adds, “School mein angrezi grammar nahi padhayi gayi hai [English grammar has not been taught in the school].” “Hindi, English, Mathematics, Social Science, Sanskrit and painting are taught. Madam was saying that she will teach grammar later. Right now, she is teaching literature,” he elaborates. When asked to add up 80 and 40, Saurabh struggled and took a lot of time before coming up with the correct answer.  “I am illiterate. I do not know how much Saurabh knows. I try to send him to school every day, but when I work as a labourer or find work in the fields, he has to take care of the house. For us, along with studies, work is also important. Otherwise, how will we feed and clothe the children,” asks Nisha Devi (36), Saurabh's mother.Children going to the upper primary school (Photo - Sumit Yadav, 101Reporters)The upper primary school at Chandanpur in Sikanderpur Karna block has 128 students. Though 40 students are registered in class 7, around 10 to 15 children remain absent every day. Out of the 25 to 30 children coming to school, only 10 to 12 are good at reading and writing. These are regular attendees, while the rest come only when there is no work at home. Aman Yadav* (12) studies in this class, but he is not able to read even a single line from his Hindi textbook. “When there is work in the field, he helps me out. Agriculture is our livelihood, so what will we eat if we do not work?” says Aman's father Phool Singh Yadav (34), a farmer.Phool Singh understands the virtues of education, but is equally hopeless. “If he does not study, what can we do? We are doing whatever we can. If he does not study, he will do farming. Anyway, will we get a job after studying?” Manvi Kashyap* (13), a class 7 student in the upper primary school at Aderwa, Bichhiya block, can read simple words from her English textbook but does not know grammar because she has not been taught that yet. “No one in my house can teach me. When I do not understand something while studying at home, I ask the teacher the next day,” says Manvi, who has completed her primary schooling in the same institution and has two younger sisters.There are 38 students in her class, but half of them do not attend. According to Manvi, children hide or scoot from their homes when the teacher comes home to call them to school. “Due to not going to school every day, these children find it difficult to read Hindi books,” says Manvi, whose father Shyam Bahadur Kashyap (36) has studied till class 10 and sells momos. Her mother Vibha Devi is illiterate.(Above) A student reading a book (below) a student working at the farm after school (Photo - Sumit Yadav, 101Reporters)What teachers say    According to headmaster Sukhbir Singh (42), the upper primary school at Behta Nathai Singh has 97 children enrolled. Only about half of them attend classes. “Besides the household responsibility, it is the parents’ attitude about education that reflects on the poor attendance of their children. The parents of most of the children are less educated; many of them are illiterate. For them, household work and labour are more important than studies. We constantly contact the families and urge them to send their children to school regularly. But when farm work starts, attendance goes down,” Sukhbir says.  Regarding the quality of education, Sukhbir argues that there are five teachers in the school. “If children come to school, there will be educational improvement in them… It is also necessary that children study at home. Most of the children who come here are from poor families. They have to do farm work or graze animals after returning home. Every year, eight to 10 children drop out of school by the time they reach class 8. Most of the children are unable to support the family financially, so they start working as labourers. This is also a big challenge for us,” he explains.Chandanpur Upper Primary School has 128 students, but the attendance never crossed 70-80. If farming work is going on, it plummets to 30-40. “We visit the homes to call children out. The mostly illiterate or less educated parents think that education is all about getting a government job. When they come across someone educated but not having a government job, they form this opinion that education is useless,” headmistress Sajiya Siddiqui tells 101Reporters.Siddiqui informs that the school has three teachers and two instructors. “The Right to Education Act, 2009, states that no child should fail. So despite being weak, one has to promote the children to the next class. This sequence continues till class 8,” she adds.Ranjana Devi, the head of the upper primary school in Aderwa, says educational standards of children entering class 6 is very poor. “A big reason for this is that no child can be failed till class 8.” The National Education Policy 2020 Report states that the gross enrolment ratio for classes 6 to 8 is 90.9%, while it reaches 79.3% in classes 9-10 and 56.5% in classes 11-12. This indicates that a large number of students drop out of schools  after class 8.  The condition of education in most of the rural schools is poor. The Annual Status of Education Report 2023 (ASER-2023) shows that the educational quality of children studying in primary and upper primary schools in rural India is very poor, with 42% of the children aged 12-18 years not capable of dividing a three-digit number by a one digit number. The ASER 2022 assessments of children in the five to 16 age group suggest that 49.8% children in class 6 in Uttar Pradesh can read simple words in English, but cannot read sentences. For classes 7 and 8, these were 53.5% and 55.2%, respectively.  In Mathematics, 26.9% children could recognise numbers from 11-99, while it is 25.2% and 23.9% in classes 7 and 8, respectively.  Vacant posts of teachers are also responsible to a great extent for the quality of education. There are 41,338 vacant posts in upper primary schools in Uttar Pradesh. However, in response to a question from MLA Anil Pradhan, Basic Education Minister Sandeep Singh told the Assembly on February 6 that the student-teacher ratio was 29:1 with 1,20,860 teachers and 27,555 instructors present in upper primary schools of Uttar Pradesh.To assist weak children, the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Department runs Nipun Bharat Abhiyan, under which teams of subject expert teachers are formed at the block level. These teams conduct weekly additional classes in every school and teach through activities that suit the children's behaviour. They are even taught using fun games. Dr Rachna Singh, member, state resource group, tells 101Reporters that many types of programmes are run at the school level to improve the educational standards of weak children. "Under Nipun Bharat, we give emphasis to activity-based education instead of lectures. We run remedial classes for weak learners. Along with the children, we are trying to connect their parents  with the school. The more aware the parents are, the easier it will be to make efforts to improve their children's educational standards," Rachna says.The dropout rate and student-teacher ratio in schools are the big reasons for the pathetic educational quality of children. Perhaps this is why children studying in upper primary schools of Uttar Pradesh are illiterate even after studying.*Names changed to protect privacyEdited by Rekha PulinnoliCover Photo - Students at the Higher Primary School in Chandanpur (Photo - Sumit Yadav, 101Reporters)

Low income makes next generation turn away from pottery profession in Unnao district

Preference for plastic products, degradation of ponds and lack of awareness about government schemes make people shift from tradition   Unnao, Uttar Pradesh: Diwali is around the corner, and the few potters left in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh are looking towards the festival to earn some extra money. “We hardly earn enough throughout the year, it is during the festival season that we can make some money by selling diyas [oil lamps] and other clay utensils,” says Rajkumar Prajapati (42) of Korari Kala village of the district, while getting idols of Goddess Lakshmi and God Ganesh ready for Diwali.“My family of eight works together to get things ready for the festival. This helps in meeting our Diwali expenses. We usually rely on farming for our source of income, because it is difficult to support the family with just the money we get from pottery,” says Rajkumar, whose sons are studying in classes 10 and 8. “I learnt pottery making from my father, but my sons will not take up this job. I also do not want my children to do this. There is no future in pottery,” he says.Pottery was a prominent occupation in rural areas, predominantly carried out by the Kumhar caste in the district. With the passage of time, pottery making slowly became obsolete. Only a handful of individuals are involved in this profession now as the new generation is looking at other career paths.Take the example of Shankar Vishwakarma (80) of Rithanai village who says he is the last person in his family to make clay utensils. He has been working as a potter for over 70 years. His body has become frail now, and he can hear very little, but he says he will continue to do the work as long as he can because this is all he knows. “I have four sons — three work as masons and one is a teacher. Initially, two of my sons started working with me in pottery making, but they lost interest within a few days and looked for an alternative.  Shankar explains that the younger generation is losing interest because the profession is not lucrative. “To make pots and other clay utensils, the entire family has to get together to procure clay, shape utensils, bake them and then finally sell them. Even today, our largest pot sells for Rs 50 to 60. The maximum it can fetch is Rs 80,” he says.“A person can only earn about Rs 4,000 to 5,000 by making clay utensils, and there is no guarantee that we will make so much. It takes about five to six days for a pot to be ready. The money is not proportional to the effort it takes in making the utensils,” he adds.Shankar’s elder son and mason, Santlal Vishwakarma (55) chimes in. “From masonry, I get around Rs 700 daily, which is enough to cover the family’s expenses… I know that my children will not continue this family occupation and I agree with them. Even doing masonry for someone else is better than doing your pottery work alone,” he says. Potters of Unnao making and arranging pots (Photo - Sumit Yadav, 101Reporters)Non-availability of clayIn addition to low income, availability of clay is an issue. “We need fine clay to make utensils. This clay is found at about 6 to 8 ft depth in the water body. Earlier, before the onset of monsoon, we would collect the clay and store it in our homes. However, most of the ponds near the villages have vanished or the area has been taken over for farming purposes… The ponds that do exist are often filled with household waste, plastic and contaminated water. To get the right quality clay, we have to travel about 3 km or more,” says Shankar.He further explains that nearly 25 years ago, the government allocated 10 biswa (0.04 acre) to eight potters. However, the soil on that land was not suitable for pottery, so they did not collect clay from there. “Taking advantage of this, the nearby farmers encroached upon the land, so now we do not even have an option to collect soil from there or have a leverage against the government to show that the clay from the land is not suitable for pottery making,” he adds.The introduction of plastic has also brought down the popularity of pottery. “The pot that would sell for Rs 10 to 15 some 15 years ago now sells for Rs 50. But the price of everything has gone up exponentially,” says Sarju Prasad (80), another potter from Rithanai village whose both sons work as masons.Women painting the sculpted figures (Photo - Sumit Yadav, 101Reporters)A paradigm shiftVirendra Kumar Prajapati (34) from Rithanai teaches in a private school and runs a Common Service Centre where online services related to Aadhaar and job cards are available.“My father and grandfather used to do pottery, but now my father is engaged in agriculture and masonry. I had tried to get a government job but could not clear exams, so I started teaching in schools. I earn Rs 8,000 from teaching and the online centre fetches about Rs 6,000 to 8,000. Compare this to what our family earned when we used to do pottery to earn barely Rs 3,000 to 4,000,” says Virendra.Every village now has only two to four potters, says Santlal. Although there are government schemes in place to assist potters, these benefits have either not reached the intended recipients or the individuals are unable to utilise them.Many older potters are unfamiliar with or find it challenging to use the government-subsidised electric wheels, preferring the traditional stone or iron wheels for their work. Integrating older artisans with new technology presents a significant challenge in this field.Few potters left in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh are looking towards the festival to earn some extra money (Photo - Sumit Yadav, 101Reporters)What government saysAddressing the challenges faced by potters, former (now transferred) district khadi and village industries officer Akhilesh Agnihotri highlights the various ongoing government schemes intended to assist potters. Potters have the opportunity to apply for leases through the revenue department.“The department annually provides wheels, both manual and electric, to selected farmers at the block level to enhance the pottery business. Additionally, we extend loans at minimal interest rates to promote business growth. Despite these efforts, the number of potters registering with the department remains minimal,” Agnihotri says. A total of 416 potters have registered with the District Khadi and Village Industries Board so far. The new District Khadi and Village Industries Officer, Satyendra Kumar, mentions the range of government schemes aimed at supporting potters. “The primary scheme is the Chief Minister Mati Kala Rojgar Yojana, which offers bank loans ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The potters also receive technical training in a 15-day programme to enhance their skills and are educated about new techniques and opportunities in the field of pottery,” he says.“But, it is true that due to lack of awareness, many potters are not able to receive the benefit of the schemes,” Kumar adds. The department has plans to raise awareness through posters and wall paintings at the block level.Edited by Tanya ShrivastavaCover Photo - A potter making pots on the wheel in Unnao (Photo - Sumit Yadav, 101Reporters)

Grappling with inflation, mud wrestlers of Unnao lose appetite for the game

Rising prices of milk, ghee and other fortifying food items, lack of patronage and poor rewards relegate the once popular Kushti to the background.Unnao, Uttar Pradesh: The akharas of villages in Unnao district spring to life at the crack of dawn, the zest to succeed quite palpable in the air. Bathed in mud, men clad in loincloths struggle to keep up their balance, the single most important factor that decides the transformation of the ordinary into exceptional, a commoner into a warrior. Once a popular rural entertainment where sports and tradition entwine, kushti (wrestling) is on the wane. The pahalwans (wrestlers), whose heroics spiced up the evening conversations at village squares, are now engaged in getting a grip on their finances, which keeps their ‘appetite’ for the game in control. Being a full-body combat sport, kushti demands tremendous stamina. Though grapplers need to enhance their strength, the rising prices of essentials have pinched their pockets. “Milk now costs Rs 50 per litre against the Rs 8 or 10 some two decades ago. Ghee is priced at Rs 800 per kg, and almonds at Rs 1,000. How can anyone run the family if the sport demands so much expense?” Surendra Kumar (36), a wrestler and father of two from Lakha Pur in Sikandarpur Karan block, told 101Reporters.Kumar learnt the sport from his father Bindapal from the age of 10, and started participating in matches at 16. “Wrestling bouts have been a key part of my life for the last 20 years. Three hours of exercise is a must, both in the morning and evening. I drink two litres of milk daily. Apart from ghee and almonds, copious amounts of chana (gram) and fruits should be part of the diet,” he explained.Pahalwan Surendra Kumar stands tall with Lord Hanuman's gada (Credits: Sumit Yadav)Only a few takersKushti demands a regimented life, but the returns are nominal in today’s world. In 2004, Kumar bagged the ‘Zila Kesari' title in the Unnao district dangal (wrestling bout). The prize money at that time was Rs 2,100. “Even today, for big matches, the maximum cash reward is Rs 11,000. However, dietary needs for a single day cost people like me Rs 500 to 700,” Kumar said.He linked poor rewards to the falling popularity of the game. “Watching wrestling bouts was a hobby, if not a way of life, for people in villages. Today’s youth have no interest in it — either to watch or to play. They mostly watch cricket.”“People now have neither time for leisure nor any hobby,” echoed Kamlesh Kumar (48), who has not watched any wrestling match in his native Durjan Khera in Bichhiya block in the last 10 years. This explains why wrestling matches, which used to be organised throughout the year, have been confined to four months (from Nagpanchami to Diwali). A wrestler has to earn for the whole year from those four months and since the game demands a particular physique to be maintained, he cannot take up other jobs in his free time.This story is part of our series on Rural Sports where we explore an exciting arena of untraversed stories. Also read: How too much professionalism made Kerala’s famed snake boat races a costly affairAccording to Kumar, the number of wrestlers in Unnao district has seen a sharp drop from 50 to 60 in 2004 to just seven or eight nowadays. “I have had around 12 disciples to date. However, only three or four are fighting in matches. A poor man cannot feed his child milk and ghee when the family’s burden increases. So, they try to make optimal use of resources by educating their children. Most of my disciples have taken up jobs or are into business,” Kumar said.He said a platform to conduct matches was constructed outside the village limits after he made several attempts in this regard. However, due to lack of patronage, the area is now covered with bushes.A platform lays waste: After multiple attempts by Surendra Kumar to set-up a platform for wrestling, the ground stands in a dilapidated condition.Ankush Yadav (21) of Durjan Khera wants to join the Indian Army. “Wrestling? It is such an old-fashioned game. And what is a career in wrestling? Some 2,000 to 3,000 rupees in village bouts,” he said, when asked if he was interested in the game.Ankit Kumar (20) gives company to Ankush during his routine morning exercise. “I do this to keep my body fit. My baba (grandfather) was a wrestler. All he could earn was a little name, not money. Now, after such hard work, if you do not get money, then why do such work?” Training neededA seasoned wrestler, Bhupendra Yadav (26) of Bangarmau town pointed to the lack of facilities for those aspiring to pursue the game. Village-level wrestling can take one nowhere. Those who are used to the mud pits find it difficult to compete on the mat, and vice versa. “There is no facility to train rural children on the mat. There is no wrestling coach in the stadium in Unnao, the only place where that facility is available in the district. If you want to make a career out of wrestling, you have to go to other districts. Lack of money does not allow it in most cases,” said Bhupendra, who took a liking to the arena after seeing his father Kanhaiya Lal Yadav’s performances.If a modern arena with coaching facilities is established at the district level, Unnao will give birth to many talented wrestlers, he believed.Bhupendra won Unnao district ‘Zila Kesari' title in 2017, which came with a reward of Rs 10,000. “From other matches, you can make a total of Rs 3,000 to 5,000 normally. I pursue it as a hobby. In any case, we cannot cover expenses for the whole year by participating in wrestling bouts.” Organiser fretsUnnao wrestlers practicing in the arena for upcoming matches.A resident of Naugawa in Bichhiya block, Anuj Yadav (34) organises riots in the village grounds for Dussehra every year. “My father used to manage it earlier. After his death in 2016, I took up the responsibility. We get donations from locals to run the show, but contributions have come down drastically. A decade ago, we could organise a bout for Rs 5,000 to 7,000. But today, it requires around Rs 30,000,” he said.Only tradition keeps the bouts running. Anuj said this year’s finals carried a cash reward of Rs 5,100, which used to be only Rs 1,100 a decade ago.District Sports Officer RD Paul acknowledged the fact that no special measures have been taken to promote wrestling. “However, along with other sports, trials for wrestling are organised from time to time. Those who qualify can compete at the state level,” he claimed.No wrestling association is present in the district. “We are trying to form one soon by including all wrestlers present in the district. The needs of players should be fulfilled so that they can make a career out of wrestling. We have held a meeting with all the people concerned seeking suggestions to improve the scope of wrestling, besides urging the district magistrate to make facilities available to players,” he said. Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association secretary Prem Kumar Mishra claimed they organise interstate competitions from time to time. Those who win such matches receive better training and other facilities, he added.Edited by Rekha PulinnoliCover image of wrestler Surendra Kumar shaking hands with a rival in a dangal. Images sourced by Sumit Yadav.

Junkyard of neglect: How political apathy ruined a solar plant in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao

Installed under the Mini-Grid Policy, a power unit that illuminated rural households in Madarnagar in Bangarmau block lies in shambles due to lack of maintenance and indifference of all stakeholders Unnao, Uttar Pradesh: As the mercury soars, Hasim Khan (44) reaches out for his bena or hand fan at his modest two-room dwelling at Madarnagar in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh. Life was much easier when the solar power plant was functional, but those days are far gone.  Sitting in the verandah, Khan reminisced how the free power supply from the plant set up by Arise India Limited, a Delhi-based company, brightened up his family life. “It was installed outside the village. Free connections were given to about 400 homes, including mine. We were told we would get free electricity for five years, with each family receiving 100 watts per day to power a tiny bulb and a fan. Nevertheless, it was a relief as my children could study under an electric light, and my wife could cook in the kitchen,” he told 101Reporters. However, Khan's relief was short-lived as the electricity supply was abruptly cut off within a year. Though villagers were told that the plant had some technical issues, nothing was done to restore the supply. “I can barely sustain my family of five with my meagre income, let alone afford an electricity connection now,” he lamented.The plant, which came under Bangarmau block, was set up in 2017 at a cost of Rs 3.12 crore under the Mini-Grid Policy, which sought to enhance electrification in rural areas with no access to the national grid. The policy facilitated private developers to set up solar plants to power rural households and collect tariffs directly from consumers.Hasim Khan fans himself to find respite from heat in the absence of electricity in Madarnagar village of Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh (Photo: Sumit Yadav)However, the government apathy rendered the facility non-operational, forcing people like Khan to rely on emergency lamps. “Even if I manage to get the connection again, how will I pay the bills? My three children study in a government school. How will I pay for their education?”Khan managed by sleeping inside a mosquito net under a tree. But his wife and children who stayed inside, often got diarrhoea due to the heat. “Monsoons have added to my problems,” he said disappointingly.“We cannot even lie down in the open then,” bemoaned Khan.Shubham Sahu (26) has a mobile shop just outside the village. “People benefited significantly when the solar plant was functional. There was uninterrupted power supply throughout the day. Even at dusk, the shop remained illuminated and we did not require any emergency lighting facility. However, we had to look for other resources when it stopped operations,” he told 101Reporters.Women of Madarnagar, rural Unnao sitting outside their houses during hot summers of northern India (Photo: Sumit Yadav)Other businesses are equally affected. Working on an intricate embroidery in the fading light along with her three daughters and two daughters-in-law, Shakuran Bano (60) said, “We women were immensely relieved with the installation of the solar power plant. We could finally cook in the light. Our house had an existing electricity connection, but power would be cut off when it was sweltering hot and when it rained.”Maintenance issues, red tape rule the roostRamesh Kumar Gupta (56), an operator at the solar plant, said the 150 KW plant was set up with 500 panels of 320-325 W and 540 batteries, and about 400 houses were powered free of cost by installing connection poles. “We ran the plant 24x7 for almost a year, but then some officials took issue and directed us to run it from 11am to 2pm and again from 6pm to 10pm. After two months, another set of officials from Lucknow turned up and told us to shut it down permanently until ordered otherwise.”Solar plant set up in Bangarmau block, Unnao, Uttar Pradesh under Mini-Grid Policy of UP government (Photo: Sumit Yadav)Thefts have been reported thrice since its closure, with 46 batteries, five solar panels, and panel wires stolen. “Though we tried to lodge a complaint, police kept harassing us. Till date, they have not recovered anything,” he said.Gupta said he was recruited as an operator for a monthly salary of Rs 14,000. But even after five years, he received only five months' wages. “When we informed the officials about the thefts, they permitted us to hire a guard for Rs 7,000, but he has received only one month's salary so far,” he added.The plant is in total disrepair, with tall grass engulfing its premises and inches of dust settled on the equipment and batteries inside. “Officials visit from time to time, but only look from the outside and disappear,” said Gupta, expressing his angst.Copy of First-Information Report filed by Ramesh Kumar Gupta, operator at solar plant set up in Bangarmau block, Unnao, Uttar Pradesh (Photo: Sumit Yadav)Speaking to 101Reporters, Madarnagar panchayat chief Bacchu Lal (42) said, “I took up the village leader role a year ago, and the plant had become dysfunctional even before that. We talked about reopening it with the New & Renewable Energy Development Agency (NEDA) officials, but they said they could not help, and asked me to use the gram panchayat fund set aside for the development of the village. Despite these bottlenecks, we are constantly trying to fix this.”Passing the buckThough the plant was functional only for less than a year, the blame game surrounding it is still on. “Arise India Limited was responsible for its operation for five years, but they abandoned the project midway without due reasons. We will write to the government to restart the plant and also take legal action against the firm,” said Nepal Singh, an executive engineer with the NEDA, Unnao. He claimed they had tried to contact the company multiple times, but the calls went unanswered. “The department is constantly trying to get the budget approved to restore the facility.”Repeated efforts by this reporter to reach out to the company also went in vain.Madarnagar village, Bangarmau block, Unnao, Uttar Pradesh (Photo: Sumit Yadav)The solar plant was built by the Samajwadi Party-led government during the tenure of then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Speaking to this reporter over the phone, Sunil Singh Sajan, a former MLC who represented the Lucknow-Unnao seat, termed it as Akhilesh's dream project.“The government of the day is working to stop all work carried out in public interest by the previous regime. Developmental ventures should be under the purview of the government and they should not be affiliated with any political party. But the current regime is interfering and stopping previous government's projects due to political jealousy,” Sajan, also an official spokesperson of the party, alleged.Though Wakeel Ahmed, the former principal lawyer of Madarnagar, pointed to the empty rhetoric over the plant reopening, Sajan said they were going to leave no stone unturned. “We have written several times to the government to revive this plant. I had also written multiple times to Ravindra Kumar, the former district magistrate of Unnao. Now, I plan to speak with the new district magistrate and seek assistance on the matter,” he said.When contacted, Shrikant Katiyar, the BJP MLA from Bangarmau, parried questions and said, “I had also visited the site once, but I do not have all the information as to why the plant was closed. I will try to restart it, after carrying out in-depth investigations.”Leaders and department officials have their own arguments about the Madarnagar plant, but the closure of the ambitious venture that once illuminated impoverished households is unfortunate. Those directly affected, including Khan, are still hopeful that the plant will resume operations soon and their homes will be lit up again. Edited by Grace Jayanthi

Misery in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao: Quenching thirst with contaminated water

High arsenic and fluoride content has turned water undrinkable for the residents of Gudsar, the result of effluents from nearby industrial areas. Inaction by authorities have only made things worse. Unnao, Uttar Pradesh: “The water in our village is just poison. We can't even cook our food using this water, forget drinking it,” says an exasperated Munni Devi, as she herds her buffaloes by a canal in her village. Around 70km from Lucknow, in Unnao district's Sikanderpur Karan block, is the village of Gudsar. Residents here, like 48-year-old Munni Devi, are simply frustrated — frustrated that the lack of a basic necessity like drinking water can make their lives this miserable.Harrowed residents resigned to fate“We are poor people. We cannot afford to buy water. Whenever we have relatives coming over, we have to go fetch water from 2km away. Because of the smelly, polluted and rotten water in our village, relatives have almost stopped visiting us,” says Munni Devi, who lives with her family of eight — three sons and three daughters, and husband Ram Lal who works as a labourer.Pointing at her buffaloes sitting in the water, she says, “Look at them. No matter how healthy a buffalo is, the water in our village will just make them sickly and weak. If an animal won’t drink water properly, how is it supposed to stay healthy?”Sitting next to her, Anita Devi says the water in their village barely ever quenches thirst.“When we go outside the village somewhere, we drink lots of water because the water here just feels light,” she says.Sitting in the veranda of his house, 62-year-old Dayaram Lodhi echoes their sentiments.“The water never used to be like this,” Lodhi tells 101Reporters. “The water started getting contaminated after the canal came up next to our village.”Picking up a bottle of water, Lodhi adds, “What you see now is crystal clear water. Wait for a while, and this water turns completely yellow. It's so polluted that even a metal bucket gets completely ruined.”Lodhi, who has 15 members in his family who consume around 50 to 60l of water a day, says the quality of water started turning bad around 20 years ago. Another Gudsar resident Ram Prakash Verma echoes this claim. “Once this canal came up, things changed. Earlier, the groundwater level wasn’t this bad either.”As per a report of the State Water Resources Agency, in Uttar Pradesh, a total of 28 districts had a problem of arsenic contamination in groundwater, including Unnao. In March, 2019, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation and Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation had jointly filed an affidavit before NGT. The affidavit highlighted the arsenic affecting a population of 1.3 crores in Uttar Pradesh.The 58-year-old, who owns roughly 2.5 acres of land, says farming had become increasingly difficult because of the water quality, which had deteriorated primarily due to fluoride and arsenic contamination. Arsenic gets entry into the food chain through the use of pollutant-contaminated water for irrigation, and this plays a major role in deciding the agricultural income of this village.“The wheat harvested last year was completely ruined. The level of chemicals in the canal water is so high that any form of vegetation simply dies. Not only is the quality of wheat and rice poor, the yield is also below average. We are forced to sell the harvest at low prices. The contamination has now seeped deep into the groundwater,” he says.Yogendra Kumar, another resident of Gudsar, shows this reporter a plastic box. “Because of the water here, the box has turned red. You can only imagine what the water could do to the human body,” says the 24-year-old, adding that there's a good possibility that at least one or two members of each family in the village of 400 has some form of stone disease. “The pollution in the water here has only increased the occurrence of diseases among residents. Most people just stay sick after falling ill.”Non-functional hand pumps, inactive govtCriticising the inaction by authorities with regard to tackling this water crisis, Kumar says: “Whenever we complained to any authority, we only received false promises. There are around 15 high-quality hand pumps in the village, but none of them work. The water drawn from traditional hand pumps is simply awful. The RO plant set up here three years ago worked for first six months and then didn’t give one drop of water.”Village pradhan Amresh Kumar, too, spoke about the RO plant: “Since it was a plant set up by the Uttar Pradesh government, the panchayat had no funds for it.”In rural areas, the India-Mark hand pumps are supposed to be rebored. “But no such repair or reboring work has been done on the hand pumps,” says Amresh Kumar, adding that he was given charge of the village only recently.For daily drinking purposes, residents of Gudsar rely on the hand pumps, which give out highly contaminated water. But villagers now say they are getting used to it.“Who can afford to get tanker water every day? One can arrange for tankers for weddings and other functions, but for daily use, hand pumps are all we have,” says a villager.Uncontrolled fluoride, arsenic contamination Dr Alok Pandey, the physician at the Unnao district hospital, told 101Reporters, that the level of fluoride in water must not exceed 1.5mg/l, while that of arsenic shouldn't exceed 0.05mg/l. “If the fluoride level exceeds the permissible limit, it can prove fatal. Excess fluoride can lead to misshapen arms and legs, can cause weakness, fever and can also lead to various stomach and dental ailments," he explains.Incidentally, the arsenic level in Unnao district exceeds the 0.05mg/l limit, as per National Green Tribunal (NGT) data. In July, 2014 a sample testing run by Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, identified 20 districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Unnao as 'severely toxic' zones, based on the arsenic concentration in groundwater.Mohit Chak, the superintendent engineer of the Unnao water department, says there are 53,816 hand pumps in Unnao, which has a population of over 25.7 lakh. In Sikanderpur Karan block, 26 RO plants were set up. Asked about the condition of the RO plants in Sikanderpur Karan, Chak claims he did not have any knowledge regarding their non-functioning. “Once I get information, work to get them repaired will be initiated,” he says, adding that of the 319 villages in the block, 76 were affected by excess fluoride. “As many as 1,455 of the 4,355 villages in Unnao face issues related to excess fluoride in the water. Of these, 28 villages face TDS (total dissolved solids) pollution.”Regarding provision of pure drinking water, the superintendent engineer informs 101Reporters that the tender process for the central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission had yet to begin at the block level. The scheme aims to provide drinking water directly to every household by 2024, and Chak says the results of the scheme will start to show. However, keeping in view the serious health consequences, NGT in the order dated 28.01.2020 had set a deadline for completion of total remedial work by December, 2020.As far as the Jal Jeevan Mission tender process is concerned, the official says it will be done by July and work for the same will begin thereafter.Tanneries to blameLocal residents blame the various tanneries in the region for the contamination of the water. They insist that these tanneries, located in the industrial areas of Sikanderpur Karan block’s Banther, release chemicals in massive quantities into the canals near the villages. The water in these canals seep into the groundwater, further contaminating that, as well.Rituraj Sahu, the managing director of the CETP (common effluent treatment plant) that filters contaminated water discharged by factories in the industrial area, says there are several factories and tanneries that release chemicals into nearby water bodies. To filter the chemical-laden water, Sahu says the CETP has a capacity of around 4.5 MLD (million litres per day). “Currently, the plant filters around 1.5 MLD of contaminated water. None of it is released into the nearby canals of Banther,” Sahu claims.However, as per a report of the Central Pollution Control Board, 35.42 MLD of contaminated water is released into this canal.The NGT, too, had questioned the Uttar Pradesh government about “inadequate” progress in provision of drinking water.Nevertheless, the situation on ground remains poor for villagers. People still have to fetch drinking water from over 2km away.“The situation has now become such that people are refusing to get their daughters married to anyone from our village,” rued one villager.Edited by Sharad AkavoorAll photos: Sumit Yadav