Water scarcity a always a scarcity in Banda:
At the Kumbh mela, PM Narendra Modi washed the feet of the cleaners to pay them their due respect. But one needs to ask a fundamentally important question-If one’s feet are washed by the prime minister of our country; does it ensure that he or she will be treated with some dignity? It has been 72 years since India gained independence but we still have not broken away from the shackles of the caste system.
“We are considered as untouchables and they do not let us fill water” says Gendiya, a resident of Chitrakoot. If she dares and tries to fill water, then she would have to face consequences and will be subjected to violence and abuse. Even after waiting for a couple of hours, Gaya, a resident of Chitrakoot says that she has to wait for someone to fill water in her vessel.
This is the situation when ground water is available. Once the ground water dries up, tankers are used as a source of water. Whether or not this water will be supplied to the Basoors-a lower caste, is on the discretion of the people belonging to the upper caste.
According to RK Patel, a member of the parliament, a lot of efforts are being made to abolish untouchability. If a complaint is filed, then he guarantees that the government will look into it. Irrespective of these measures, untouchability continues to live in the streets of Chitrakoot and Banda.
Babita Fougat:
Babita Phogat is a versatile person; she is a youth activist, a gold medallist in wrestling and is also contesting elections. As a woman she faced a lot of hurdles at the beginning of her wrestling career as girls were not given much recognition and freedom. But she overcame these struggles and today she is chosen by the Bhartiya Janta Party to run for elections from Dadri.
In one of her interviews, Babita claims that the two reasons behind her entering politics was to put an end to the evils that exist in the society and she also wants to convey PM Narendra Modi’s policies and ideologies to the public. She believes that it is her duty to the serve the society as people have always been supportive of her endeavours. She hails from a political family, but this is the first time that she is entering the sphere of politics and wants to give her best shot at it in order to move forward. If she succeeds, she would first try to solve the problem of the water crisis that prevails in almost all houses. Also, she would like to focus on the development in the education and sports sector.
She wants to become a role model for young girls in India and wants to inspire and empower them.
Written By- Anoushka Mandal
