Death of Two civil soldiers in Varanasi
PM Modi is roaming the country, doling out the numbers of dead soldiers on the border. He is also trying to get people to attend the election rallies while quoting the sacrifice, lives lost and the bravery of departed soldiers.
At the same time, two people have been martyred in Varanasi which is represented by Modi. It has been two days since the incident happened, and doesn’t even look like Modi is aware of it. These martyrs for soldiers have a big history. About a week ago, the PM had sat down five people who represent this ‘soldier’ community and washed their feet before the camera. He had said to the people of the nation that this was somewhat a compensation for all the excreta and urine they cleared at the Kumbh Mela.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t been even a month since he washed their feet, two dalits in his own constituency Varanasi, have fallen into the manhole and died.
All along his administration, Modi has been emphasizing on Swachata Andolan. He has not only taxed people separately for this, but also told people that they had to celebrate cleanliness like a movement. He has spent thousands of crores on this. The real soldiers of this movement are Pourakarmikas. Advertisements, speeches and events do not clean up the city. Cities open up to life only after the Pourakarmikas sweep clean the roads and bylanes.
If the cities are clean in the morning, it is not because of Modiji’s speeches; but because of these sanitation soldiers having done their duty diligently. Cleanliness is health. Just the way as our soldier in high altitude suffer health complications while guarding the country, Pourakarmikas have been sacrificing their health so that the country remains clean. Their average lifespan is merely 40 years, this is somewhat a startling truth revealed by experts.
The practice of getting Pourakarmikas to get into the manholes and clean them up has continued unabated, despite the fact that the government has spent thousands of crores on Swachata Andolan. It could have been a big revolution if Modi had brought in sewer cleaning machines to change and revolutionalise the way Pourakarmikas work.
Thousands have died getting down into the crap holes. There is hardly any difference between the soldiers who march ahead despite a threat to life, and these Pourakarmikas who get into manholes clearly understanding the implications. But when a soldier dies, he becomes a martyr and a Pourakarmika dying in a manhole does not even become a news item. His life is worthless. Human dignity would have died along with him.
Getting any special compensation is a far cry because his children come to occupy the space of their dead father.
When he was the CM of Gujarat, Modi had said the labourers performing the role of Bhangis or cleaners, was spiritually elevating for them. The same mindset continued in Kumbh Mela when he washed their feet in an emotional drama. He seems to have given a message that the Pourakarmikas should continue performing the same duty. This is the gift he gave to those who had cleaned the excreta of lakhs of people who had come together in Kumbh mela.
If he had some gratitude towards the Pourakarmikas, he would have announced some really special schemes for them. He could have regularized their jobs since most of them live on temporary employment. He could have given them benefits and upheld their dignity through that.
He could have extended same facilities to their children as he does to the army kids. Their lives would have been some bit better if not totally. But he used the entire opportunity of those Pourakarmikas to play for votes before the camera.
The tragedy that happened in Varanasi somehow makes one feel very devastated about the future. One wonders if there will ever be a day in the future when the Pourakarmikas won’t be sent down the manhole.
Till such things happen, the Pourakarmikas have to be accorded all respects by PM Modi as that of a soldier who dies on duty. Their final rites will have to be conducted with the same respect as that of soldiers. Their relief amount has to be increased. Swachata Andolan can get meaningful only with such measures. This is the duty of PM Modi who washed the feet of Pourakarmikas. But will Modi even notice these things while he is busy counting bodies of soldiers ahead of elections?
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
ECI website faces outage amid vote counting in Jharkhand, Maharashtra
New Delhi: Election Commission of India’s official results website ‘results.eci.gov.in’ has reportedly experienced a technical outage on Saturday morning, at a time when India closely watches the high-stakes Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly poll battle.
Visitors visiting the site were met with non-functional links and a generic “counting in progress” message, leaving them without updated election data. The ECI has not issued an official explanation for the disruption.
Vote counting, which began at 8 a.m. with postal ballots, is underway for 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra and 81 in Jharkhand. Early trends suggest a lead for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, currently ahead in 141 seats, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is leading in 96. In Jharkhand, the BJP-led NDA is ahead in 43 seats, while the ruling JMM-led alliance is trailing with leads in 33 constituencies.
Additionally, counting is underway for 48 assembly bypolls across 13 states and two parliamentary seats, Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala.
