Punjab’s Village.Com

‘‘But what makes me really proud is the fact that ours will be the first village in India to have an underground sewerage system,’’ says a beaming Gurmit Palahi, principal of the Community Polytechnic Institute in the village.

It is the stuff dreams are made of, and most of it is funded by private money, sourced from Palahi’s migrant sons in the Western world. Much of the Doaba region can lay claim to such generosity, not many, however, can compete with the thrifty management of the funds. The dictum is ‘do-it-yourself (DIY), but keep an eye out for government doles’.

While NRI money has been coming Palahi’s way for a long time now — the village has an Anglo-Vernacular School dating back to 1917-18 — but focused DIY began with the registration of a National Rural Development Society (NRDS) in 1983. The next year, villagers set up a Community Polytech, and followed it up with a Guru Hargobind Educational Council, named after the sixth Sikh guru who is believed to have visited the village in the 16th century.

The synergy now among the Polytech, the panchayat, the NRDS and the individual villager is like an organic live wire connection. Consider the way it worked on the village pond, a fast-disappearing component of rural Punjab. The panchayat decided that the pond must be kept alive and be used for water-harvesting. During summers, drained-out water from the nearby gurdwara pool is diverted to the pond, fish seed is introduced and a private party contracted for maintenance for a few thousand rupees. And so the villagers have a regular income, a preserved pond, excellent use of recycled water and environment conservation.

Then there’s the underground sewage system. Villagers say that when they first broached the subject with the administrative authorities, they were told there simply wasn’t any government money available for the purpose. ‘‘No village in India has underground sewerage,’’ they were told. Perturbed by the consequences of untreated sewage on human health, Jagat Singh Palahi, a well-known philanthropist-industrialist with connections abroad, went ahead and collected Rs 36 lakhs; the pipes are currently being laid. ‘‘We need Rs 50 lakhs for the whole job, but we’re certain the project will be completed,’’ says Gurmit Palahi.

And to keep its NRI benefactors posted on developments in the village, the polytechnic sends out regular newsletters; a Palahi website is also being set up. To further computer literacy, the British Council Division conducts exams and gives out diplomas recognised by Cambridge University.

For all that, Palahi has its problems. For one, says Gurmit Palahi, ‘‘Around 50-60 girls from the village either haven’t gone to college or have dropped out in the last few years. We have also identified 10-12 youths who’re addicted to drugs. Obviously, they are rebelling against the healthy option. We have to think in terms for the youth’’.

Palahi is also tackling another problem of plenty: Scores of villages have lined up for adoption, and village elders simply can’t make up their minds from a shortlist of 20. Problems, undoubtedly, that other villages would give their arm-leg for.