Poor infrastructure

There has been much talk about improvement of rural infrastructure which is yet to materialize. Rural infrastructure is horribly backward and in need for attention and it is a big question that the government needs to answer: What happens to the crores of allocations towards rural infrastructure?

The roads are in bad shape. Only the highways and few other roads are metalled, pucca roads. All the other roads are either kachha roads or cement ones that the government boasts underPradhanmantri Gram Sadak Yojana. These cement roads are rough ones and in very less time the cement and sand start coming off and eventually, there is no road in sight. These roads are not capable to bear much load and meant basically for walking, cycling and light vehicles to a very less extent. Frequent use of motorbikes and motor cars also chips off the road. There is a heavy dearth of bridges across rivers and people use boats or bamboo bridges to travel across during rains.

Residence facilities are also not adequate. Most of the houses are kachha houses with thatched or tiled roofs, there is no pipe water connection and people have to carry water from hand-pumps, wells or rivers, ponds, etc.

Telecommunication has increased to a great extent with a lot of private players coming in. People have started using mobile phones.

Electricity is another big problem. The villages are poorly electrified and for those villages that are electrified have poor service. The power cuts are frequent and downtime is pretty long.

However, irrigation has improved in a number of villages. Yet, it has a long long way to go.

The time is ripe for public-private partnerships in infrastructure projects as well. When, our potential lies in the villages, we need to wake up to rural development. Villages hold huge resources especially in terms of agri-based products. Improvement in infrastructure will improve procurement , logistics and supply chain capabilities.