Panchayat Divas: Winds of change hit Palli village in J&K ahead of PM Modi’s visit

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On Wednesday, Palli’s sarpanch Ravinder Sharma launched an electric bus service from the village to Ambphalla in the neighbouring Jammu district, while Samba deputy commissioner Anuradha Gupta distributed solar chulhas among women.

Palli has 453 houses, said sarpanch Sharma. “While 340 households will be provided solar power connections on the occasion, the remaining houses will get it after Modi’s visit. Solar power will also be supplied to water pumps installed by people in their fields,” he added.

“To ensure zero wastage of wastewater, soak pits are being constructed in the village,” Sharma said, adding that these pits are connected with drains leading to agricultural fields. “As a result, while the soak pits will help increase groundwater level, the wastewater will go to fields through the drains,” he explained. “A segregation shed for dry and wet waste is also being built under the Swachh Bharat Mission.”

Central Electronics Limited, a public sector undertaking under the central government’s department of scientific and industrial research, is also setting up a 500 kV solar plant across 6,408 sq m at a cost of Rs 2.75 crore to provide clean power to 340 households in the village under the Gram Urja Swaraj programme. The plant is being set up in a record 20 days and will be inaugurated by Modi who will also address all panchayat members across the country from there on April 24 to mark Panchayat Divas.

The government high school nearby is also being white-washed and tiles are being laid in classrooms. (Express photo)

With the entire village set for a facelift before the arrival of the Prime Minister, tent house owner Rohit Sharma said that the pace of development in Palli in the last 50 days or so would have taken years otherwise. “Officials from at least 50 government departments are either camping here or visiting the village daily,” he said, adding, “Officials – right from the patwari to the deputy commissioner – have been frequenting the place”. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Minister of State Jitendra Singh also arrived to take stock of the preparations for the Prime Minister’s visit.

The village panchayat ghar, lying unused since its construction in 2003 for want of an approach road, is also getting a facelift. (Express photo)

The 2-km road to Palli from Palli Morh on the Bari Brahmana-Bishnah road has not only been widened and blacktopped, saplings have also been planted on either of its sides, officials revealed. Every department is holding camps in the village to apprise people of the welfare schemes meant for them, villagers said. Special camps were held to issue domicile certificates and Ayushman Bharat cards to all besides old age and widow pensions to eligible villagers, they added.

With tube wells built seven years ago by the water resources department remaining unoperational, the villagers have been using hand pumps to procure water for their daily needs, but now field staff are working overtime to provide tapped water connections to each household, the villagers pointed out.

The village’s only pond, which had dried up long ago, has now been restored and its embankments made pucca, they said. A borewell has also been dug nearby to ensure that it gets filled with water even during summer.

The village panchayat ghar, lying unused since its construction in 2003 for want of an approach road, is also getting a facelift. A small bridge has been built over a nullah to provide road connectivity to the building which is also being upgraded with computers and wi-fi.

The government high school nearby is also being white-washed and tiles are being laid in classrooms. While the school staff and students painted various figures and messages on the walls, contractors levelled a playground in the vicinity. Even the village cremation ground has been given a makeover with drinking water tanks and seating arrangements for those who arrive to cremate their dear ones.

“We are making efforts to turn Palli into a carbon-neutral and model village,” said Samba deputy commissioner Anuradha Gupta. Elated at the fast-paced development, villagers believe the upcoming Panchayat Divas will be a truly memorable day for them.