Kojang, Jharkhand: Major problems faced by the villagers
A village study
I and my siblings visited my grandparents after a long time on 20th of March, 2022 on the occasion of Holi. They live in a small village called “Sanea Kona” that falls in Raidih block of Gumla district in Jharkhand.
From there we went to a nearby village called “Kojang”. After talking to the people there I realised, even the kachha road that I was complaining about was recently built by one of the contractors to transport raw materials for constructing a bridge as there was no other option.
Before that, there was just one kachha road in the village on which only two wheelers could pass, mostly bicycles.
Spending 4 to 6 hours talking to people of various age groups gave us a lot of insights about the village. I just couldn’t stop myself from sharing the the issues that the villagers are facing there.
About the village
Even in this age of digitally connected world, Kojang has no mention anywhere on the web. It is a very small village that falls under Jarjatta Gram Panchayat, in Raidih block of Gumla district in Jharkhand.
Kojang is composed of 70 families who are spread across three tolas. The villagers live in kaccha makans. There are few families who have been sanctioned certain amounts under the PM Aawas Yojana but could not get a house built because there was no way to fetch the bricks for construction.
The village had no source of electricity until few years back when “Aatma Sanstha” installed a set of six solar panels in three different locations in the village.
Major problems faced by the villagers
Water
The only source of drinking water in the village are “Chuaan”. A Chuaan is a manually dug small-well that is usually 2–5 feet deep. They are about 0.5 to 1km away from the village residential areas. Even though the water is available but it is dirty and unhygienic, inviting a series of health issues to the villagers. In the absence of younger family members, old people have no option to fetch drinking water.
Video Link: Source of drinking water in Kojang
Lal Gope ji and Priti ji, a 85 to 90 year old couple when asked about how they fetch drinking water in absence of their son, replied… “Koi diya toh thik hai, ni toh paani nahi peete hai beta”. (Video at the end of the article)
The solar panels are the only source of electricity for irrigation. Prior to the installation of these panels, people grew only rice, that too only once a year. Apart from rice, minor forest produce (partcularly, laah, saal, mahua, karang, dori, kusum, daatun, etc) are the only source of income for them.
Communication & Network
People have cell phones but they get network either on climbing the hill tops or travelling towards the town areas. In case of any emergency, they cannot even call the ambulance or reach out to their relatives.
People have no access newspapers. They don’t use radios anymore. About 8 families have televisions with no dish connection. It is only when younger population return back from work is when villagers get news updates.
Education
Children walk to attend classes in a government school that is 2–3km away. Till few months back, they had no way to reach the school during the rainy season before the above mentioned bridge was constructed.
During the COVID times, their education was affected to a great extent because of both transportation and network issues.
Roads and connectivity
Around three months back, there was just one narrow kachha road in the village on which only two wheelers could pass, mostly bicycles. The sick patients were carried half way on a cot (khatia or chaarpaai) by the villagers to Raidih Hospital which is 12km away from Kojang.
It is only after the construction of the little broader road by the bridge contractor that four-wheelers somehow enter the village.
Bhelwadih, PMJSY road, contructed three years ago is the nearest main road (4km away) from the village.
Pension
People usually get their pension in time. But, we came across few individuals who are currently facing problem in applying or receiving their pensions. For example….
Preeti ji (85y old approx.), came to us asking help to apply for pension for her husband, Lal Gope ji (90y old approx.). They had been trying to get his pension but the application is not getting passed for no reason.
Infact, from last three months she herself has been denied of pension. Every time she visits the Circle Officer (CO), she gets to hear “nahi aaya hai”.
Video Link: Priti ji Explaining about issue of drinking water, network and pension
Objective
This is not just the condition of Kojang but other neighbouring villages like Saneakona, Khutiari etc are also facing similar issues.
Therefore, through this article, I wish to draw attention of the distict adminstration to the major problems being faced by the people living in the villages in Gumla district.
We request them to take the necessary steps to make people’s living conditions little better. At least a decent source of drinking water, installation of a network tower and a well constructed transportation facility will suffice. We also request you to help Lal Gope ji and Priti ji get their pension.
कोजांग, झारखंड : ग्रामीणों की प्रमुख समस्याएं
मदद की गुहार लगाते हुए जिला आयुक्त को भेजा गया संदेश
श्री शुशांत गौरव जी (DC, गुमला),
इस संदेश के माध्यम से मैं आपका ध्यान गुमला जिले के कोजांग क्षेत्र में ग्रामीणों के सामने आने वाली प्रमुख समस्याओं की ओर आकर्षित करना चाहती हूं।
मैं और मेरे भाई-बहन इस होली पर सनिया कोना में अपने दादा-दादी से मिलने गए। वहाँ से हम “कोजांग” गाँव गए और वहाँ के ग्रामीणों के रहन-सहन की स्थिति अत्यंत खराब पाई।
गाँव में पीने के पानी का एकमात्र स्रोत “चुआन” है जहाँ पानी गंदा और अस्वच्छ है जो ग्रामीणों को कुछ स्वास्थ्य समस्याओं को आमंत्रित करता है। परिवार के छोटे सदस्यों के न होने से वृद्धों के पास पीने का पानी लाने का कोई विकल्प नहीं है।
लोगों के पास सेल फोन हैं लेकिन उन्हें या तो पहाड़ पर चढ़ने या शहर जाने पर नेटवर्क मिल जाता है। किसी भी आपात स्थिति में, वे एम्बुलेंस को कॉल भी नहीं कर सकते और न ही अपने रिश्तेदारों से संपर्क कर सकते हैं।
करीब 3 महीने पहले गांव में सिर्फ एक संकरी कच्ची सड़क थी, जिस पर सिर्फ साइकिल ही गुजर सकती थी। ग्रामीणों द्वारा बीमार मरीजों को खटिया पर रायडीह अस्पताल (12 किमी दूर) ले जाया जाता था। 90 साल के लाल गोप जी को पिछले साल एक बैल ने टक्कर मार दी थी। परिवहन की कोई सुविधा नहीं होने के कारण उन्हें अस्पताल नहीं ले जाया गया। नतीजतन, वह जीवन के लिए विकलांग है। हाल ही में, एक पुल ठेकेदार ने अपनी साइट पर कच्चे माल के परिवहन के लिए एक व्यापक सड़क का निर्माण किया क्योंकि उसके पास कोई अन्य विकल्प नहीं था। तभी गांव में चार पहिया वाहन जा पा रहे हैं।
हमें कुछ ऐसे व्यक्ति मिले हैं जो वर्तमान में अपनी पेंशन लागू करने या प्राप्त करने में समस्या का सामना कर रहे हैं। प्रीति जी (85 वर्ष), अपने पति, लाल गोप जी (90 वर्ष) के पेंशन के आवेदन के लिए मदद मांगने के लिए हमारे पास आईं। दरअसल, पिछले तीन महीने से वह खुद पेंशन से वंचित हैं।
यह सिर्फ कोजांग की ही स्थिति नहीं है, बल्कि अन्य पड़ोसी गांव जैसे सनिया कोना, खुटियारी आदि भी इसी तरह के मुद्दों का सामना कर रहे हैं।
हम आपसे अनुरोध करते हैं कि लोगों के रहने की स्थिति को थोड़ा बेहतर बनाने के लिए आवश्यक कदम उठाएं। कम से कम पीने के पानी का एक अच्छा स्रोत, एक नेटवर्क टावर की स्थापना और एक अच्छी तरह से निर्मित परिवहन सुविधा पर्याप्त होगी। हम आपसे यह भी अनुरोध करते हैं कि लाल गोप जी और प्रीति जी को उनकी पेंशन दिलाने में मदद करें।
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