Assam village where just one family lives
Nalbari (PTI): A village in Assam's Nalbari district, which had the road leading to it inaugurated by a former chief minister many years ago, is now almost deserted barring a single family.
From being a prosperous village in the last century to just 16 people in the 2011 census, No 2 Bardhanara village currently has a single family with five members, due to lack of a proper road.
Bimal Deka, his wife Anima and their three children Naren, Dipali and Seuti are the only dwellers of this village in Ghograpara circle, around 12 km from the headquarters town Nalbari.
"We have to travel 2 km through water and muddy paths to reach the nearest motorable road to attend our school and college. During monsoons, we commute through a country boat," Dipali said.
Anima rows the boat to ferry her children back and forth, but despite such tough conditions, the family has ensured proper education for all three.
While Dipali and Naren are graduates, Seuti is doing her higher secondary.
With no electricity, the children study under the light of kerosene lamps. The boat becomes the sole mode of transportation for the family when it rains as all the paths within the village get submerged.
The condition of this revenue village spread across 162 hectares was not so pathetic till a few decades ago, people of nearby areas claimed.
Known for high agricultural yield, former chief minister Bishnuram Medhi had visited No 2 Bardhanara a few decades ago to inaugurate a road leading to the village.
Anima said the apathy of local authorities has worsened the condition, which led villagers to abandon it.
"Local agencies like the Zilla parishad, gaon panchayat or the block development office are not interested in carrying out any work here," she claimed, adding agriculture and animal rearing is their mainstay.
With an NGO, Gramya Vikash Mancha, recently setting up an agricultural farm in the village, the family now gets to interact with other people more often.
Farm's chairman Prithi Bhusan Deka said the village was once prosperous, but recurring floods have deserted it.
"If the government constructs a road and provides basic amenities, the agricultural potential can again be realised and people will return to the village," he added.
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.
Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
