Campaign vehicles belonging to various political parties are making hectic rounds in Bihar’s Laxmanpur-Bathe village, blaring poll slogans but most people are unmoved, their eyes barren of hope.
Here the soil still whispers the anguish of the 1997 massacre in which 58 Dalits were killed by armed gang of Ranvir Sena, a private militia of upper-caste landlords.
The victims included six girls in the age-group of 3-12, nine boys between 1 and 10, 26 females between 15 and 70, and 17 males in the age-group of 15-60. Of the 26 women killed, eight were pregnant, as per police records.
But, away from the massacre and the loss of lives that weigh heavy on people’s heart, another stark reality of daily existence is the lack of water.
CM Nitish Kumar’s piped water scheme has turned out to be a big failure. The Sone river, which flows by this ill-fated village, is people’s only hope.
“Leaders have again started visiting our homes and making scores of promises. We are tired. When they can’t even solve our water crisis, how can we believe them?” a villager said.
Laxmanpur-Bathe is part of Bihar’s Jahanabad Lok Sabha constituency that votes on June 1.
Jahanabad MP Chandeshwar Prasad Chandravanshi of Janata Dal (United) says he has been visiting his constituency when free from House sessions. “Imagine the law-and-order situation before 2005 (during the RJD govt),” Chandravanshi says. “But I can’t visit every village.”
Meanwhile, RJD’s Jahanabad seat candidate, Surendra Prasad Yadav, says, “RJD has always worked for poor and taken care of their interests. People must trust me.”
Even as political parties vie to garner some brownie points on the expoits of grief and loss, Laxmanpur-Bathe knows nothing will change. The water crisis will only grow and so will backwardness. People will keep leaving the village hoping for a better future in the city. The apathy and neglect will be complete.
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