Dua (Unnao), Uttar Pradesh

After sunset, the lanes and bylanes of Dua village wore a deserted look. The only ones outside were drunk men, gamblers, and those who lay in wait to waylay and rob unsuspecting passers by.

Not any more, said Manju Devi, a 35-year-old from Dua village. “Ever since the camera [CCTV camera] and street lights have been put, the criminal activities have come down. Nobody fights on the streets now and women like me feel safer. People are always mindful because the camera records everything,” she said.

The credit for the transformation of this village with a population of about 2,000 located 90 kilometres from the state capital Lucknow goes to Rajesh Singh, the 40-year-old mukhiya (village head), who has had 32 CCTV cameras installed in the village in the past two years.

There was a time when nothing was safe in the village. “If we were not alert enough, our chairs, motor pumps, cycles and clothes were stolen,” said Maya Devi. But with the CCTV camera, petty crimes have dropped, she said.

The installation of CCTV cameras was the biggest positive change to have benefitted the villagers followed by sanitation drives, an IT centre, and a smart class at the primary school

Devi’s claims about a reduction in petty crimes are not unfounded. The station house officer (SHO) of the Dahi Chowki police station in Unnao told Gaon Connection that the installation of CCTV cameras has helped in improving the security of the village.

“Earlier, the villagers used to complain about theft and quarrels but anti-social elements in the village are now conscious of being recorded on camera. These cameras also help us in solving cases,” said Raghvendra Singh, the SHO of Dahi Chowki.

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Rajesh Singh, the village head, is educated till class five and earns his income from farming. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that he witnessed the challenges people in his village were facing.

“I wanted to do something for my village. I realised that nothing much can be done without having a formal post. It was then that I felt the need to contest the village pradhan elections held in 2021 and got elected. My younger brother Ajay is educated and he assists me with the development work in my village,” the village pradhan told Gaon Connection.

Ajay Singh, the younger brother who’s been assisting Rajesh Singh, had returned to his village in 2020 from Mumbai during the pandemic and was aghast to see the condition of his village. He used to study theatre in Mumbai.

“I returned to my village from Mumbai in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. I noticed that the village had become utterly barbaad [dystopian]. Alcoholics, aimless youth, the hooligans created a ruckus every day. It all had to change,” Ajay Singh narrated to Gaon Connection.

It was then that he persuaded his brother Rajesh to contest the elections for the post of gaon pradhan. In 2021, Rajesh Singh won the election and brought in changes which have transformed the village from what it was.

The installation of CCTV cameras was the biggest positive change to have benefitted the villagers followed by sanitation drives, an IT centre, and a smart class at the primary school.

Talking about the installation of CCTV cameras, pradhan Rajesh Singh said that Rs 100,000 were released from the village panchayat funds.

“However, I paid Rs 50,000 from my pocket to ensure that the CCTV cameras are installed in the village,” he added.

An IT centre at panchayat bhavan

Apart from installing cameras, the village head has brought about several other changes in the village. The panchayat bhawan in the village has Jan Suvidha Kendra (Common Service Centre) which also has an Information Technology (IT) centre to help the villagers with banking, documentation and related paperwork.

The IT centre is equipped with a computer which is run by an operator who helps the villagers in their paperwork. It offers free services for routine activities like submitting bank documents, Aadhaar card updates, payment of electricity bills, etc. The IT centre is open every day from 9 AM to 7 PM.

The centre also helps villagers by registering, maintaining and updating their land records and updating their ration cards. Tasks such as filling an online form, and getting photocopies of documents have become much easier now.

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Ashish Kumar, a 22-year-old told Gaon Connection that getting his income certificate, caste certificate, and address proof certificate was easy because the Common Service Centre was equipped with the IT facilities.“Earlier, it would take me a full day to get these paperwork done, because I had to travel 10 kilometres to go to the city to do it. But having the centre in the village saves a lot of time which is precious for me as I am preparing for the competitive examinations,” said Kumar.

“It cost us Rs 50 to go to Unnao city and come back. Not everybody can afford to visit the city if they need to get some kaagazi kaam [paperwork] done there. That cost is also saved now,” said Maya Devi.

Modern Classrooms & Better Sanitation

Almost 300 children in the village primary school are excited to go to school as it now has modern facilities such as a smartclass with a projector and a space lab. The smartclass makes use of technologies like computers, audio/visual aids which make learning interesting for the children.

“The space lab has models of various spacecraft. We saw the landing of Chandrayaan in the school. I understand things better when I see them on the projector screen,” Mayank Yadav, a student of class 4, told Gaon Connection.

The panchayat bhawan in the village has Jan Suvidha Kendra (Common Service Centre) which also has an Information Technology (IT) centre to help the villagers with banking, documentation and related paperwork.

Also, the drainage lines in the villages are routinely cleaned which ensures that the drains are not clogged when it rains.

Along with technological changes, Dua has also pulled up its socks when it comes to civic amenities. The pathways are now laid with interlocking tiles, sewage water no longer floods the streets and drains are de-clogged regularly. Fogging is done intermittently to ensure diseases like dengue and malaria are kept at bay.

“Now, the village looks clean even if it rains. The hygiene has improved a lot, it makes us feel better about our village,” Govind Lodhi, a 40-year-old resident of Dua village, told Gaon Connection.