Elections 2019: Why Dalit Women in This Basti Village are an Angry Lot

Basti: Sunita Devi, 58, has voted for Narendra Modi, but this time she has set her mind on the button she wants to press when Basti in Eastern Uttar Pradesh goes to polls on May 12. "Who will I vote for? Modiji, of course not," she declared. Basti is going to polls on May 12 under sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections. 

On a scorching May afternoon, Sunita Devi was busy cooking food for her family of four in a wood-fired chulha in a neighbour's courtyard in eastern Uttar Pradesh. She was angry that despite several attempts, she could not get a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Even those who do have pucca houses built under the scheme, have these without roofs, with walls and floors yet to be plastered.

There are several women like Sunita Devi in Dakchin gate of Basti district, a dalit basti, who were angry as they did not get a house, nor were toilets built for them and neither did they get gas cylinder refills under the much-hyped Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. 

The reality of this Dalit basti is that most of the women are still using firewood for cooking because they find it difficult to refill gas cylinders owing to the high price and going to a public toilet costs them Rs 60-80 per month. From fear of snakes to incidents of sexual assault, to being forced to use filthy toilets, the plight of Sunita Devi, and others like her, stands out against the backdrop of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s claims that it is making the nation open defecation-free.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – A Failure

Sounding helpless, Sunita Devi told Newsclick  that an officer came to her house but refused to allot a house because their under-construction house was only 4 feet high, whereas it was supposed to be 7 feet high. "Mujhe kisi cheez ka bhi labh nahi mila, na cylinder, na toilet, na ghar, bolte hain election baad aaiyega (I did not get any benefit from the government, neither cylinder, toilet, nor house, the officer told us we well get these after the elections)."

Another woman, Seema, said she got a cylinder from her father-in-law not the government but was worried that she still does not have her own toilet, but she was happy about casting her vote.  

Dakchin gate of Dhobhi Tola has more than 1,000 residents but lacks basic facilities, including water, a primary health centre and electricity. Its government school buildings are wrecked, roads are bumpy and, most importantly, untouchability is rampant. Most of the residents work as domestic helps or ragpickers.  

Bribe to get a House?

Deppu, a 13-year-old girl in this dalit basti (settlement) who has never been to school rushed to the Newsclick team with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Sahab hamara ghar chuuta hai barsat me, wo log kahte hain pehle ghar girana padega tab ghar banega (Sir, our home leaks during the rains, but they say they we will first need to demolish our house to get a home from the government). If we demolish our home, where will we go to sleep? In rainy season, we go to neighbour's house to sleep at night", she said.

Feeling let down by the government, she said: "When we do not have money to eat, how will we build our home. The government provides Rs 2,50,000 to make house and when we asked them to repair our house in this amount, they refused, saying first demolish it. They took Rs 200 from my mother to get the house built. We also pay Rs 80 for using public toilet," she added.

NewsClick visited a number of villages in Basti district but situation was almost similar.

Gyan Mati, a 70-year-old widow, who had applied for house with the help of a neighbor, says it is four months and she is still living in the open with her adult daughter. "Officers aate hain, kahte hain ki ban jayega ghar (Officers come and assure us that our house will be ready soon). I do not even get any pension from this government," she added.

Urmila, a daily wager’s wife had a similar complaint. She did not get awas (house) nor has she got benefits from any schemes of the Narendra Modi government. She also goes to the government-built public toilet and pays Rs 80 a month, and still lives in the hope that one day Modi will give her a house where she can live peacefully with her five children. 

Chanika Prasad, who did not wish to vote for Modi, said, "Hame kuch bhi nahi mila, jo khate me paisa aata tha vridha pension, wo bhi band ho gaya (We did not get any benefit from the Modi government. Earlier old age pension used to come, but that too has stopped under this government). 

Kapoora Devi and Kailashi, who had applied for houses long back, are still waiting. No official has yet come for inspection, they said. 

Ujjwala Yojana – Where’s the Money?

The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched in May 2016, is one of the flagship schemes of the Modi government. The scheme aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with clean cooking fuel  to avoid collection and usage of firewood, considered a health and safety hazard.

But, it is Ironical that a majority of the women in the basti say they have not received a single cylinder under the scheme, and those who did, are facing difficulties in getting the cylinders refilled because they don't have money.

“Modi sarkar ne gas diya, hai par paisa ki wajah se hum nahi bhara pate hain, light nahi hai hamare ghar me (Modi government has provided a cylinder but we are short of money, so we don't refill it. We do not have electricity at home).