Despite deprived of water, electricty, Chhattisgarh's Pahari Korwa tribe adopted by President vows to vote

By Shafali Nigam
Korba (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 4 : Despite being deprived of water and electricty, Chhattisgarh's Pahari Korwa tribe adopted by the President vowed to vote in Lok Sabha elections.
Pahadi Korwa, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), also known as adopted childrens of the President lack basic facilities like water, electricity and housing, face a stark reality: a life devoid of the the basic necessities.
As the nation undergoes Lok Sabha elections, their voices resonate with urgency, highlighting the persistent lack of access to water, electricity, and proper housing, regardless of special efforts and intensive campaigns of Election Commission of India to enroll the maximum people from the Pahadi Korwa tribe.

A tribal from Dudhitangar village, Nehru Korwa said, "I will cast my vote on May 7. I will see whom to cast my vote I feel like, I will vote accordingly. There are problems with water, electricity and not getting home under the Indira Awaas scheme. There is water in the village but is less. We go nearby to get water. The problem is that there is a tap, but the amount of water coming from it is very low. It's been many days that we have been facing this problem."
The tribals also complained about spending night in darkness amidst the risk of wild animals
"There is a problem with electricity as well. We get electricity at night till 10 or 11 pm and then it gets cut. We don't get electricity supply after that," he added.
Stating no help from the government, Korwa said, "We are not getting any facilities from the government. We are just getting 35 kg of rice, nothing else."
Despite promises made by successive leaders, their plight remains unchanged, pushing them further into the margins of society. They also feel that their needs are overlooked by the administration and legislators.
"We survive by living in jungle and we collect Mahua (liquor), char fruit, and tendu patta (Indian ebony leaves) and then sell them. At times, we get work, so we do that. We do the labour-intensive work of making drain lines on roads. Now I have started working in a factory. So, I go there for work," Korwa added.
Speaking about reservations for the tribe, Nehru Korwa said, "There are no reservation benefits we are getting. Leaders come and say that we will get different benefits, but later on, they forget about it. Every leader is like that. I will cast my vote for those who at least give minimal benefits."
Rama Shankar, another tribal from Dudhitangar village, said, "Despite being adopted by the president, there are no facilities for us here. There is neither water nor electricity in the house. We survive on Mahua, Tendu patta, and herbs. We sell them after picking them up from the jungle. We provide for our family through the jungle. We don't get labour jobs here. So, how do we do labour work? If we have to labour, then we have to go to the city. We don't get it here. So, we earn our living from the forest."
"Do you think I wouldn't have to tell you if any government has helped us? If I'd known who has helped our tribe, I would've told you. So, I will vote for the candidate I feel like," Rama Shankar said.
"Who says there is water in every house? There is neither water nor electricity. There is a solar panel in the village, which works till 8-9 pm. Elephants come at night. We face so many problems to tackle because we don't have electricity here. There are jackfruit trees in our village. So, elephants come to eat that," Shankar further added.
Sukuwari, a woman from the Korwa tribe from Dudhitangar village, also spoke on the issues and said, "I will go and cast my vote on May 7. I don't know on what basis I have to cast my vote. There is the problem of water and electricity in our village. We haven't got houses yet. There are solar panels, but it doesn't work. It doesn't work the entire day. It works for some time and then again it doesn't work."
"I don't know whom to vote for, as I don't know much. We demand water, electricity and housing from the government that will come to power," she said.