Limbdi block, Surendranagar district, Gujarat is one of the state's largest districts and also the least developed. The block is located just two hours away from the capital Ahmedabad and like many other areas of Gujarat has been neglected by policy makers. Community Correspondent Bipin Solanki reports.

 

700 Dalit residents of Limbi block have been driven to the edge as the stench from the sewage collecting around their houses has become unbearable. The area has no proper drainage system for waste water. The only way to get rid of it from one's backyard is to fil it up by the bucket and toss it out on the road or on a vacant plot. The water collects and attracts diseases and vermin. It also earns the people who throw the water liberal abuses from higher caste residents.

 

Repeated attempts to attract the attention of the municipal corporation have failed. Not one official has come to visit or assess the needs of the residents.

 

"We pay our taxes, our electricity bills, water bills, the sweepers and yet we have no facilities. We are Dalits and that's why the BJP government and Municipality do not care about us," says one elderly resident who says he has seen no development in the block for 40 years.

 

"There is a very negative feeling among the residents because they feel left out. Like no one cares for them. I want to show this video to them and get them to collectively take action. We will take this to the Chief Officer and make him come to the area. 

 

The current Gujarat administration has now completed 10 years in power and waxes eloquent of the development it has brought. But stories like this continue to come out. The stench of apathy is perhaps the only thing that smells worse than the sewage in Limbdi.

 

Call to Action: Please call B.L. Ranpura, Chief Officer, Limbdi Municipality on 027 53260180 and ask him to ensure that the block gets a proper sewage system.