Kanech (Ludhiana), August 16
Ever heard of an Indian village that aspired to have a sanitation system matching up to European standards? Well, there is one now - the village of ace cricketer Yuvraj Singh and his actor father, Yograj Singh, whose enterprising residents have set upon the task to accomplish that objective.

The Punjab government has already approved a Rs 2.78 crore project for laying sewerage and drinking water supply lines in the village. As much as 75 per cent of the total cost will be borne by the government as well as locals with nonresident Indians contributing the rest.

“ We have no dearth of money - there are about 300 NRIs belonging to our village settled in Canada, the United States and other countries. Almost all of them are keen to do something worthwhile for their village,” said Ranjit Pal Singh Bhandal, a former village sarpanch who himself lives in Canada.

Interestingly, Ranjit’s daughter, Gurneesh, who is doing MSc at the London School of Economics, has chosen the role played by NRIs in development of their native villages in Punjab as the topic for a research paper that is part of her academic curriculum. Ranjit’s brother, who also resides in Canada, is also at the forefront of efforts to improve amenities in the village.

Everything in the project’s first phase, including laying sewerage and water supply pipes, has been planned meticulously. “We have paid over Rs 1 lakh for getting detailed maps to scale of the entire village prepared,” said current Sarpanch Gurmeet Singh. “We want scientific and not haphazard development of the village and that is why we have engaged consultants and experts to do the job”, he added, proudly showing the copies of the maps on the development works in the village.

“We’ll undertake the entire responsibility and not involve government departments, which are notorious for shabby execution of such jobs”, said a member of the panchayat. After laying the sewerage and drinking water system, underground cables for power supply, TV network and Internet would also be laid, he added.

“We have decided on the kind of toilets to be constructed, how water would move out from homes to streets and how it would be taken to village ponds where treatment plants would be installed for it to be used in irrigation”, said Gurmeet Singh. “We have planned the sewerage and drinking water supply system keeping in mind the population growth in the village over the next 50 years”, said Parshotam Singh, a village nambardar.

Despite strong political affiliations with different political parties, the village residents are united on the goal of rapid development of the village. “We’re all working together to achieve our objective and avoid any sort of conflict that has political tones”, said Gurmeet.

A model of the development projects stands in one corner in Ranjit’s home. “Residents can get an idea of the various works that would be implemented in the village”, said Ranjit.