Even two CMs could not help this neglected Kaithal village

Satish Seth

Keorak village situated on the National Highway 65 in Kaithal district was declared as a model village by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda over a decade ago and incumbent Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had adopted it about four years ago. However, still basic amenities and infrastructure in the village have not improved even though crores of rupees have been spent on various projects. Also, no change in the lives of thousands of villagers is visible. Villagers attribute the delay in the execution of projects to lack of coordination between various government departments. 

Drains in various localities of the village are damaged and choked; roads are muddy and unclean. Heaps of garbage in village streets are a common sight. Rafal Singh (67) and Om Parkash (45) are upset at heaps of garbage lying around Kotishwar Tirath and in village streets. The primary health centre catering to the needs of Keorak and six surrounding villages has no pharmacist and nurses or other staff members issue medicines to patients. Besides, three posts of male health worker in this primary health centre are vacant. 

The work on a number of development projects, including renovation and rehabilitation of Kotishwar Tirath, has just begun. The construction of a centre of Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary Sciences, Hisar, is running behind the schedule and only its boundary wall has been constructed on the proposed site. These projects are unlikely to be completed before the Assembly elections. Village sarpanch Balkar Singh Arya says that the contractors executing the projects were not doing their work in time, leading to delay. 

Villagers complain that they get only two hours of power supply during daytime though the supply is almost normal during night. At times, the functioning of the Atal Seva Kendra in the village gets affected due to power outage during daytime. 

Ramesh Chand (60), a resident of Bhainkar Patti village, says that he had felt happy when Khattar adopted Keorak village but the pace of development had been very slow. Other villagers point towards choked drains and dilapidated roads. They say the situation has not changed despite a huge expenditure.

Additional Deputy Commissioner RK Singh says that all required steps will be taken to expedite the ongoing projects    so that their benefits percolate to the people at the earliest.