Ulihatu (Khunti), Aug. 13: For the 2,000 residents of Ulihatu, a non-descript village in Khunti district, today’s visit of Union home minister Rajnath Singh to pay tribute to their most famous son, Jharkhand’s tribal icon Bhagwan Birsa Munda, was momentous not so much for the many bridges and culverts he promised, but for the fact that power was back in their homes after a wait of four months.
“Bijli aaj subha hi aaya. Itne din se kata hua tha. Ab pata nai kab tak rahega (Electricity came back this morning. We did not have power for so long. I don’t know how long it will stay),” remarked Jauni Munda, Birsa’s great granddaughter, who is pursuing her graduation from Birsa College, Khunti.
Deputy commissioner Chandra Shekar would not admit their effort was because of Rajnath’s visit. Nor would Gopal Manjhi, executive engineer of JBVNL of Khunti. But villagers had seen this happen before during earlier VIP visits.
Manjhi explained the delay in restoring power supply was due to the lack of timely information and lack of personnel. “Places like Ulihatu is among the remotest areas of the state. It is very difficult to maintain power lines most of which get snapped in the wind,” he said.
Singh is the first Union home minister to visit Ulihatu, 55km from Ranchi, since Independence. He was at Birsa’s birthplace under the aegis of the centre’s Yaad Karo Kurbani programme that warrants Union ministers to visit and pay tribute to freedom fighters in their native villages in the run-up to India’s 70th Independence Day.
After showering flowers at Birsa Munda’s s statue in Ulihatu, Singh went on to lay the foundation of various welfare projects like roads, culverts and bridges worth Rs 108cr at a ceremony in Kitahatu, about 12km from there.
While the promise of roads and bridges was greeted by cheers from the inhabitants of Ulihatu, many of whom direct descendants of Birsa, privately they all seemed sceptical.
According to Budra Munda (50), a great grandson of Birsa, Ulihatu had power till four months back. “But the bills, ranging between Rs 90 and Rs 100, kept coming regularly. We go all the way to Khunti, around 25km from here, to pay the bills as there is no payment facility here,” he rued.
Raizan Munda, the mukhiya of Badinijkal panchayat that oversees Ulihatu’s affairs, said they had approached district officials a number of times, but nothing ever came of that. “The panchayat has 10 tolas. Power cables had been fixed in many of the tolas around three years back. But, power supply is erratic at best, sometimes it is not there for months,” he said.
Another villager, Punprakash Purty (60), who described himself as a distant great-grandson of Birsa, welcomed the street lights installed a couple of years back, but said he was more concerned about the poor condition of the local school. “The Birsa residential school, the only one of its kind in the village, has too few teachers. It lacks basic facilities too,” he said.
Singh, accompanied by chief minister Raghubar Das, state ministers Neera Yadav (education) and C.P. Singh (urban development), and others reached Ulihatu at 1.30pm when he paid floral tributes at Birsa’s statue. Former chief minister Arjun Munda was present too.
Singh spent around an hour in Ulihatu and listened to several villagers who spoke of their primary concerns that included demands for better power, a playground, ambulances, water supply and, above all, jobs for the youth of the village.
Chief minister Das promised to develop Ulihatu as an “aadarsh gram” (model village).
“In a week’s time, work will begin here on power, roads, drinking water and pucca houses. All that is needed for a decent living will be taken care of. Initially we will take up 71 houses and make them pucca,” he said, before leaving for Katihatu, 12km from Ulihatu, with the Union minister.
There, around 2,000 people were waiting for the VIPs along with Ranchi MP Ram Tahal Choudhary, state rural development minister Neelkant Singh Munda (rural development), Saryu Roy (food and civil supplies) and several MLAs.
Addressing the gathering, Singh asked youths to draw inspiration from Birsa’s life and contribute to society by fighting against ills. “Birsa died fighting for the country’s freedom at a very young age. At the same time, he also fought against many social evils. I appeal to you all to take inspiration from his life,” he said.
Singh also iterated that the government would not tolerate violence perpetrated by Naxals or terrorists.
“I have said this before and I am saying this again that any kind of violence or attacks on securitymen, both from within and outside the country, will not be tolerated. Be it Naxalism or Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, we will reply strongly,” he said.
Singh also praised chief minister Das for his development initiatives.
Das, on his part, thanked Singh for having come to Jharkhand. “Like Birsa Munda’s ulgulan (call for revolution) against British rule, our government has also sounded an ulgulan for development,” he said.
