ApnaBundelkhand.com, New Delhi:The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee
has decided to form a committee to monitor the Central package for
Bundelkhand and make suggestions for betterment of the region. The panel
will comprise grassroot-level workers and is aimed at giving them a
boost.
Over the past few
months, workers from the area had been alleging that though Pradeep
Jain, the lone MP from the region, has been made Union Minister of State
for Rural Development, he has been unable to devote much time to the
Bundelkhand issue and has been neglecting the local leadership.
The situation
worsened after Jain promoted one of his supporters as the party
candidate during recent by-election despite reservations from all end.
The formation of the
committee is expected to address these issues and balance the situation
in the region.
Bhanu Sahay — a
former Youth Congress leader from Bundelkhand and the General Secretary
of the party’s state unit — has been made its chairman. Gauri Shakar
Bidua, another grassroots level worker and a farmer leader, has been
made its convenor
Both Sahay and Bidua are grassroots
level workers, who have been raising the Bundelkhand issue at the local
and national levels. Way back in 2006, Sahay was among the first
Congress leaders in the region to float the demand for a separate
package for Bundelkhand.
Because of his
active participation at the local level, he was also part of the
delegation which met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with AICC
General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to demand a special package for the
region.
"There is a wide acceptance for
Sahay’s name as he has been working for party in Bundelkhand for long.
Hence the thought of giving the post in the committee,” said a senior
party leader.
Apart from Sahay and
Bidua, Congress presidents in the seven districts of Bundelkhand in
Uttar Pradesh will be the committee members.
In the absence of a
formal announcement, Subodh Srivastava, the chief spokesperson of UPCC,
refused to comment on the issue.
But Sahay said he
received the letter from UPCC on Monday. "With the help of this
committee, we will be able to mobilise our workers again and conduct a
discussion with different sections for the region’s development,” he
said.
"In this process, we
will also try to also involve the local leadership of other political
parties, so all views and suggestions are taken into account.”
State to focus on traditional water
sources
LUCKNOW: The state government now looks to solve
Bundelkhand's water crisis through traditional resources like wells and
ponds. The Department of Drinking Water Supply, Union Ministry of Rural
Development, has approved projects worth Rs 200 crore to recharge the
traditional water resources and construct water testing labs . A K
Srivastava, the Managing Director of Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam — the nodal
agency for the projects — said the state government has already
collected details about the available traditional water resources like
wells and ponds in the seven districts of Bundelkhand.
"We have two
kinds of data," he said. "First, we collected revenue records about
ponds and then, we got supportive satellite mapping data from the
state's Department of Science and Technology."
But it is not water supply resources
alone that would be taken care of, Srivastava said. "We will also try to
provide clean and safe drinking water. At times, these traditional
resources have water which is not fit for the consumption of animals and
they need regular testing." Hence, the project includes setting up of
water testing labs at the district level and sample collecting units at
the block level. Work on the project will begin from April and the labs
will begin functioning from mid-May. The Jal Nigam, meanwhile, will
also get a number of ponds and wells cleaned up.
