“Sadak par atikraman naa karein ya kooda-kachra naa daalein, sadak jahan, smrudhi wahan (Don’t encroach roads or throw garbage on them, roads are followed by prosperity).”

These words are inscribed on the weather-beaten board of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna—the government’s rural road connectivity programme—near the entrance of the locality of Bholu Ka Pura in Sankra village in the constituency of Morena, Madhya Pradesh. The board itself is incongruous with its surroundings. The area is a picture of filth, with piles of garbage and muck.

It’s this filth that’s blamed for the myriad health issues faced by the inhabitants of this locality. Every fifth household out of 190 houses here has a differently-abled member of the family. Children are often born with deformities—to say nothing of the rampant respiratory illnesses, blood-related disorders and mosquito-borne diseases like dengue. If that isn’t enough, the villagers also grapple with issues related to drinking water, unemployment, and the struggle to obtain their Below Poverty Line cards from the administration.

But administrative efficiency and political interest are far removed from this small Dalit locality, settled about two kilometres from the main village, which is populated by upper caste communities. It’s been 11 years since the inhabitants of Bholu Ka Pura began their uphill battle to get rid of the pool of the dirt they live with. This pool, they claim, has contributed to multiple deaths and deformities among their families.

Phoolvati and her son.

One of them is 30-year-old Phoolvati, who stands with her son, who is mentally challenged, outside their home. She says the filth in the village has been building up for years, and blames it for the ailments and disabilities suffered by their children. “It’s very rare to see deformed children in every other household but over here, it’s a common sight. Despite complaining about this issue over a dozen times, no one cares to solve our issues. It may not seem like a big deal to an outsider, but an outsider doesn’t have to stay here for a long time. For us, it’s a big deal: it affects our lives and the lives of our children.”

According to Dr Mahesh Vyas, the block medical officer of Jaura which has jurisdiction over Bholu Ka Pura, ”severe unhygienic conditions can lead to the birth of  disabled children. Infections in mothers because of dirty surroundings can lead to congenital disorders in children. These disorders can be of any kind and can affect any part of the body leading to disability in them.”

Dr Vyas adds: “We do receive cases of disabled children from Bholu Ka Pura, and try to provide the best treatment to them.”

Near Phoolvati, Rachna Jatav, 35, stands with her five-year-old son Arvind. Arvind is in a vegetative state: he lies in bed day and night, and cannot speak, sit or stand. As she tries to lift him, she says, “He can’t eat or drink, or do anything with his hands. I don’t think there’s any reason apart from the filthy, unhygienic conditions here that’s behind the births of differently-abled children in this village. We’ve been running from pillar to post to cure him. Over 70 per cent of my husband’s salary is spent on his treatment.”

Rachna Jatav and her son Arvind; (below) Arvind’s disability certificate.

Rachna’s husband works as a tailor in Jaipur. She says politicians never visit them, apart from asking for votes and then vanishing. “The lives of the poor are of no concern to the rich.”

Nineteen-year-old Poonam Jatav, whose nine-year-old sister Rinki was born with disabilities, agrees. “Elections come and go, but no one helps us with our problems.” Showing Newslaundry her sister’s disability certificate, issued by the Government District Hospital, Morena, she says, “The pension for differently-abled people has been coming for the last three years, but our sarpanch has not released the funds to us.”

Poonam Jatav displaying her sister Rinki’s disability certificate.

While the villagers can’t pinpoint specifics apart from blaming the filth surrounding them, the widespread disabilities among the population is difficult to ignore. Pramod Jatav, 20, can’t lie down on his bed due to his disability. “I don’t know the exact reason why this happened, but there are many others in the village suffering from similar disabilities. There are chances we’re all suffering because of a common problem.” Such as Ramvati, whose 12-year-old son was born blind. Her repeated complaints to the tehsildar and collector to clean up the village have gone unheard.

Pool Singh Jatav, 54, says, “From the panchayat to the collectorate, nobody has done anything. Young boys have died due to diseases borne out of this uncleanliness. But still no action has been taken to clean our village. We’ve gone to everyone, from local leaders to district authorities. Not one of them has helped us.”

Praful Shrivastav of Ekta Parishad, a social organisation that works for marginalised communities, recently conducted a survey in Bholu Ka Pura. He says more than 35 children in this Dalit locality suffer from disabilities and deformities, and over half a dozen young boys died from dengue. No government survey has been undertaken on the issue.

“The attitude of the administrative authorities towards this locality is very apathetic,” explains Shrivastav. “The area has been like this for 11 years. Many residents suffer from respiratory diseases and blood-related disorders like anaemia. The unhygienic conditions are why children are born with deformities. Young men here age very fast. The villagers have repeatedly approached district authorities, asking them to make a drain in the village so the water can be flushed out—but the demands have fallen on deaf ears.”

Other issues

Water taps have been installed outside many of the houses in the area, but most of them don’t work. “They’re there only for namesake, none of them are operational,” says 24-year-old Shashi Jatav. “We have to buy water at ₹200 a month. We spend the whole day worrying about getting enough water to take care of our households.”

The water is presently being bought from a local who installed bores outside his house. With the water taps being of no use, the residents walk up to 500 metres to fetch water. “With the responsibilities of the household, it becomes tiring for us to go to the bore every time,” Shashi says.

A major issue is that none of the villagers have received their Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards, which would allow them to benefit from government policies. According to them, the cards were not distributed in the village. Instead, they have white ration cards without slips, which do not allow them to buy food items at the rates specified by the government. Despite repeated demands for the BPL cards, there has been no progress.

It’s important to note that all the 190 households here have less than one bigha (22,500 square feet) of land in their names—not enough for farming. As a result, they’re completely dependent on daily wage work for their survival. Most of the men work as construction labourers in big cities and towns.

The local government is failing Bhola Ka Pura on all fronts. According to Ekta Parishad, even the transformer providing electricity to the locality is dysfunctional. Repeated requests to repair it haven’t been entertained so far. The villagers now pay a private entity to provide them with electricity.

The filth in Bholu Ka Patra has remained uncleaned for 11 years.

Newslaundry contacted Vinod Singh, the sub-divisional magistrate of Jaura in Morena, to ask him about the problems in Bhola Ka Pura. He said, “We will definitely look into the matter but only after elections. We also have to check whether the villagers themselves are involved in this because sometimes they themselves are responsible for the conditions in which they live. However, once the elections are over, I will see how this issue can be resolved.”

Morena goes to the polls on May 12. The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Narendra Singh Tomar and the Congress, Ramniwas Rawat. Notably, none of the candidates contesting from the Morena constituency have visited Sankra village where Bhola Ka Pura is located—a common story in villages in these parts. Newslaundry tried to contact the offices of Tomar and Rawat for comment but was unable to get a response, as both offices are busy with the election.

But as Ekta Parishad’s Shrivastav points out, “This village is gradually dying. I don’t know why authorities aren’t taking it seriously.”