Their farmland turned barren due to polluting effluent, villagers in UP’s Mirzapur to boycott polls
Phase one of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh gets underway. But in Jagapatti village of Mirzapur, the inhabitants say they won’t vote in protest against effluents from the carpet industry in neighbouring Bhadohi district’s seeping into their fertile fields and destroying their crops.
Brijendra Dubey
It’s election time and fresh promises are being made to clean up the ‘cancer-causing’ Kali River in UP
Kali river, which flows through 80 villages in Muzaffarnagar and Meerut districts of election-bound Uttar Pradesh, has been exposing nearly 250,000 people in these villages to a host of diseases including skin problems and even cancer. Factories dump untreated effluents into the river with impunity and an under-capacity sewage treatment plant is woefully inadequate to deal with the pollution load. Politicians time and again promise to clean up the river, everytime an election comes around. A ground report from The Gaon Postcard series.
Brijendra Dubey
‘No road, no vote’: Elections come, elections go, but these villages in UP yet to get a road
Poll-bound Uttar Pradesh has a road network of over 300,000 km. But that means nothing to over 40,000 predominantly tribal residents of 13 villages in Matwar gram panchayat of Mirzapur who do not have a motorable road. The lack of roads adversely impacts the villagers as they struggle to access education, health facilities, markets and employment avenues. Now, they have threatened to boycott the upcoming assembly elections unless their gram panchayat gets a tar road.
Brijendra Dubey
Two years on, Babulal Singh yet to receive Rs 2 lakh for his paddy procured by the govt
Aggrieved by repeated changes and constant delays in paddy procurement and payment, protesting farmers in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh submitted a list of seven demands to the District Magistrate. At least 23 farmers await their payment of over Rs 42 lakh. Many are unable to sell their paddy at the procurement centres.
Brijendra Dubey
3 kids of a Dalit family in Mirzapur die within 4 days; health authorities clueless about the cause
The deaths of three children in Rampur Dhabhi village of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh has perplexed the villagers. These kids reported similar symptoms of high fever, seizures and frothing from the mouth. There is no final word on these deaths but health officials suspect neurocysticercosis. What is this disease and how does it spread? Details here.
Brijendra Dubey
Basic amenities missing, national athlete KM Chanda’s family lives amidst mining dust in UP’s Mirzapur
With no tap water and electricity supply at her house, athlete KM Chanda’s childhood struggles can be imagined by witnessing the plight of her family members who barely manage a living. Dust from nearby stone quarries pervades the village but the athlete’s proud parents have somehow managed to keep her trophies shining. Details here.
Brijendra Dubey
Slain Sagir Ahmed, a carpenter from UP, went to work in Kashmir to pay off the debt he incurred for his wife’s COVID treatment
Six months ago, Sagir Ahmed from Saharanpur lost his wife to COVID19. He had taken a huge loan for her treatment and went to Pulwama in J&K to earn money and pay off the debt. However, the 58-year-old was gunned down on October 16 while he was on his way back from work.
Brijendra Dubey
No respite from fevers in Firozabad; families incur heavy debts to treat their kin
The first case of ‘fever’ was reported from Nagla Aman in Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh on August 18. Five weeks later, Gaon Connection visited the village and its neighbouring areas to find out how they were faring. Almost every household had a someone who was ill and debts were piling up as families were borrowing large sums of money to treat their sick children.
Brijendra Dubey
Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Remove Minister Ajay Mishra and punish his son, demand protesting farmers in Mirzapur
As thousands of farmers streamed into Lakhimpur Kheri today for the antim ardas of the farmers who were killed on October 3, hundreds more staged a dharna at district collectorate in Mirzapur, holding up banners with the images of the slain farmers, and shouting slogans, demanding justice for the dead.
Brijendra Dubey
14-year-old Anjali, the latest victim of the ‘fever’ outbreak in Firozabad
There seems to be no end in sight for the nightmare in Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh, where since mid-August there have been at least 62 reported deaths due to fever, including dengue.