No Electricity, Water, Drainage Or Roads: Border Village In Kutch Still Lacks The Most Basic Facilities

Kutch: In Gujarat’s Kutch district, not far from the India-Pakistan border, several villages are still struggling without even the most basic facilities. One such village is Dhunara Vandh, part of Dhrobana Gram Panchayat, located about 100 kilometers from Bhuj, the district headquarters. Despite being nearly 50 years old, the village, home to around 150 people from the Sama and Saiyad communities, has no electricity, running water, drainage, school, or medical center. Most families depend on animal husbandry and agricultural labor for their livelihood.

With no official power supply, villagers rely on solar panels for limited electricity. There is no school in the village, and children have no access to even primary education. Women must walk over 1.5 kilometers daily to collect water from 25-30 feet deep pits in private fields, an exhausting and risky task, especially in desert temperatures that reach up to 45°C. Pipelines were laid in 2018 to supply water to Kotda-Dhunara Vandh, but the village still hasn’t been connected to the main line. The local panchayat continues to request support, but nothing has changed so far.

Healthcare is also a major concern. With no roads, ambulances cannot reach the village directly. In emergencies, patients, often pregnant women, are carried on cots to meet the ambulance at a distance. Education remains out of reach for many children. Those from poorer families stay back in the village, while children from better-off households walk 3 kilometers to attend school in Kotda.

Despite repeated visits from political leaders before elections, the village’s problems remain unsolved. Promises have been made, but no real action has followed, leaving Dhunara Vandh and its residents waiting for change.