I came back from my village day before yesterday and this is what I saw there and along the roads. i was born and brought up in a tribal family at a village BOARIJOR in the new district of Godda.There are big open cast mines at LALMATIA about 10 KM away from my village disfiguring the once beautiful land marks. The villagers of old SIMRA and BHUNDAI villages have been displaced and moved.I know the people of Old SIMRA have been nicely resettled in pucca houses in a nearby area with their own school, community hall, church and other amenities including clean drinking water, free supply of electricity and access to health care and employment of few people from each household.They seem to be happy with the arrangement. But I do not know the fate of the people of Bhundai. There is a Railway line to take the coals from LALMATIA to FARRAKA power plant to generate electricity which is supplied to the neighbouring state of West Bengal. The trains pass by my village most of the night and carry coals only but there is no passenger trains for the local people. As regards my village, the only noticeable improvement is pucca road funded by I understand the WORLD BANK.Apart from this there is very little change to see. People are still poor and living in dilapidated leaking thatched houses and young children wandering around the street virtually naked in this cold weather with dripping noses.Most people still drink water from open well and very little access to health care and other benefits and employment opportunities.AND WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT THERE IS NO ELECTRICITY in the village and the night is as it was at the time of Santal Hul in 1855.

As regards the roads from LALMATI to my village BOARIJOR and beyond to BORIO and Bhuskaare , they are no better than 40 years ago when I left my village on a bullock cart.Only difference is that there are few buses running on these roads now a days and the roads are not muddy but full of stone chips and gravels with deep holes every few yards breaking the backs of the travelling passengers and you know what there Is NO ELECTRICITY line along these roads which send the source of this energy elsewhere.

So this is my experience 40 years on.

Dhuni