Tribal Villages Struggle with Unpaved Roads in south Gujarat

Navsari :  In the heartland of Gujarat’s tribal hinterlands, where promises of vibrant development and modern amenities seem to have fallen flat, the grim reality of unpaved roads and lacking infrastructure has cast a dark shadow on the state’s tall claims.

In a poignant incident that highlights the dire situation, a young man from the remote village of Khataamba in Vansda taluka, Navsari district, lost his life after consuming poison due to a family dispute. The tragic twist of fate was that the absence of proper roads meant that he couldn’t receive the urgent medical care that might have saved his life.

The young man, Vipul, aged 32, took his own life in Babuniya Paliya, a village with hardly 15 houses, perched on a hilly terrain. When the desperate villagers tried to summon an ambulance, it became painfully evident that the absence of paved roads had become a death sentence. With no road access to the village, the villagers had to carry Vipul on a makeshift bamboo sling, traversing treacherous terrain for approximately one and a half kilometers before reaching the ambulance.

Tragically, Vipul ceased to breathe before he could receive medical attention upon arrival at the hospital in Vansad town. The heart-wrenching ordeal didn’t end there; even his lifeless body had to be transported back in the bamboo sling.

This heart-rending incident has ignited fury and frustration among the villagers, who are now questioning the state’s development rhetoric, particularly the government’s claims of 24-hour electricity, drinking water in every village, and well-paved roads.

While Gujarat has indeed made significant progress in urban areas, many villages, especially those near hilly regions and border areas, continue to grapple with inadequate road infrastructure. In life-threatening emergencies, patients often have to cover long distances to reach the nearest hospital. Paved roads would allow ambulances and other crucial vehicles to access these remote areas swiftly, potentially saving lives. However, the grim reality is that villagers must endure the daily struggle of navigating unpaved, rugged roads.

Babuniya Paliya of Khataamba village is just one example of the countless villages in Gujarat that have remained untouched by the promise of paved roads since independence. Congress MLA Anant Patel, representing Vansda, highlights that this tragedy is not an isolated incident. Tribal communities in these interior villages continue to suffer from a lack of access to proper drinking water, basic amenities, and paved roads. Patel asserts that there are over 50 such unpaved roads in Vansda alone, waiting for government attention and development.

“Had there been a paved road, perhaps the young man could have been treated and would be alive today,” laments MLA Anant Patel. The incident in Babuniya Paliya is a stark reminder that while progress may have reached Gujarat’s cities, the state’s tribal and remote areas remain in dire need of basic infrastructure and services, and the government’s tall claims of development have yet to materialize for them.