Neglect sidelines Indo-Pak border village

Vulnerable even in peacetime, Daoke nevertheless escaped the terrors of militancy thanks to the Border Security Force post located on the outskirts. But for Daoke, the distinction ends there. Like thousands of other villages stretched out across the country, it suffers from a sorry lack of basic amenities.

"If the age-old bridge that links Daoke with the rest of the country, collapses, we have no passage," sarpanch Sadha Singh told The Indian Express team which visited the village on Thursday.

"Thanks to the presence of the BSF, the village was free from terrorism even at the peak of militancy" Sadha Singh said, adding no one from the village had joined the ranks of the militants.

Potablewater can’t be found in Daoke. For medical aid, the villagers — mostly Jat Sikhs and some Dalits — have to traverse about 15 km of yet-to-be bricklined pathway to reach the Raj Tal village primary health centre which is open between 9 am and 2 pm. The "middle school" is just two rooms without window panes and a power connection. The students did not know how many teachers were posted in the school but said two teachers taught them regularly.

The only person in government service from here is Mangal Singh who is posted as a munshi in the Ram Bagh police station in Amritsar.

Things started looking up for the 3000-odd inhabitants of Daoke when Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal visited the village recently — the first dignitary to do so in more than 50 years. He went round the village and also visited the BSF post. He ordered immediate bricklining of the village boundary and the streets and promised to upgrade the school.

According to Deputy Commissioner Amarjit Singh, Daoke was probably ignoreddue to political considerations. Now, the Chief Minister has directed the district authorities to provide basic amenities on a priority basis. "I have also sought special funds for the village from the Border Area Development Board", he added.

Farmers of the village are now busy sowing paddy. "Thanks to the Tarn Taran Lok Sabha by-election, Daoke got a 24-hour power supply. We thought it prudent to plant paddy before the concession is withdrawn", said Budh Singh, whose land stretches across the fence. He has problems cultivating the land across the fence due to the restrictions imposed by the BSF. He expressed the hope that Badal who had visited the village and seen things for himself, would fulfil his promise of getting the restriction relaxed.

Daoke, according to a village elder, was one of the cluster of three villages of Jat Sikhs. The two other villages — Bhaini Jatan and Bhaini Isayian — are now in Pakistan. They can be seen from the village this side of the fence.