Etah. You've never heard of it. It's a small district in UP, near Aligarh. But today the news reveals a district that time forgot. Here are 4 truths that will haunt you.
1. The Hospital That Has No Ambulance — Pregnant Women Walk 10 km
Etah's government hospital has no ambulance. No vehicle. No emergency number. Pregnant women walk 10 km to reach the hospital. Some deliver on the road.
Last month, a woman delivered her baby on a bullock cart. The baby survived. The mother almost didn't. Ambulance service has been requested for 5 years. Still requested.
A primary school in Etah has no roof. The building collapsed 3 years ago. Never rebuilt. Children sit in the sun in summer. In the rain in monsoon. The teacher holds an umbrella while teaching. School infrastructure has been pending for 3 years. The children are now in Class 5. They never had a roof. Etah had irrigation canals. They are now empty. No water. No maintenance. Farmers' fields are dust. Crops have failed for 4 years. A farmer said: "We have electricity. No water. We have fields. No harvest." The canal restoration project is on paper. The dust is real. Young people from Etah move to Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon. For work. For life. One young man refused. He built a small pond in his village. With his own hands. His own money. Now the pond irrigates 20 acres. His village has water. He stayed. He says: "Etah didn't give me money. But it gave me water. I'm giving it back." Etah is not on any map you care about. But every year, women deliver on bullock carts. Children study without a roof. Farmers watch their fields turn to dust. And one young man built a pond. Time forgot Etah. But Etah hasn't forgotten itself.
2. The School That Has No Roof — Children Study in Sun and Rain
3. The Canal That Is Empty — The Fields That Are Dust
4. The Young Man Who Refused to Move to Delhi — Built a Pond Instead
Etah: The District That Time Forgot