The Vaiginem villagers are living in darkness for the past many decades. In this village there is neither electricity, proper road nor a primary school. Villagers have kept their children at their relatives’ place so that they can attend school.
There are 4 houses in the village, with around 25 people residing. The villagers are walking 13 kms every day to reach the main road at Nanoda to catch a bus.
Vaiginem village is located 25 kms away from Valpoi Town. And the village falls under the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary the Forest Department is not granting NOCs to install electricity poles and to build a road. A very rough road exists in the village, but one cannot drive vehicles on it.
According to villagers, they are living in Vaiginem village for the past many generations, and the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary was declared few years back. Close to Vaiginem is the Vaida village which falls in Karnataka state. This village also comes under the wildlife sanctuary of Karnataka and like Vaiginem there is no proper road. But Karnataka Government has given them electricity and has also provided them proper water facility. Why is our Government not providing us electricity, ask the villagers.
“We don’t have electricity, road, and school in our village. We have raised this issue at the gram sabha several times and every time we have been given false promises from every elected Panchayat body,” said another villager.
“On the voting day, they come to our village to pick us up in vehicles but after casting our franchise they don’t even drop us back home,” says Gunaji Arjun Gaonkar, a villager.
“If the government wants to rehabilitate us then they have to provide us jobs and give us money for our property, which we own in our village. Then we are ready to rehabilitate, otherwise not. And if the government is not ready to fulfill our demand, then we will not caste our vote in the next elections,” said another villager Devu Gaonkar.
“We are facing many problems when we fall sick. How to go reach a doctor comes constantly to our mind. We have kept our children at our relatives’ place for studying. In our village there are 15 children but there is no primary school,” says Rukmini Pandurang Gaonkar, an elderly woman from the village.
For the past many decades, the kerosene lamps have become the electricity for Vaiginem villagers,” says another senior woman citizen.
“I am there with Vaiginem villagers and I will support them in all ways and will place all their problems and issues with our MLA and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and also I will request our MLA to solve it soon,” says Parag Khadilkar, Sarpanch Nagargao Panchayat.
