PUNE: Udhewadi hamlet, around 20km from Lonavla, would attract visitors for its surrounding valleys, waterfalls, and the Rajmachi fort. But now, the presence of mostly elderly people, lack of electricity and water supply were more evident.
Entry of tourists was banned at the hamlet from June because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This affected the income of families, who would offer lodging and food facilities to tourists.
The elderly persons of the hamlet said that most of the youths had migrated to the urban areas in search of employment, leaving not more than 50-60 people, most of them senior citizens, to look after the homes.
“We are totally dependent on whatever amount our children send us. At least we could earn something when tourists would visit,” said Baban Sawant (57), a resident, whose family is living at Udhewadi for the past five generations.
He added that they would themselves drink water from the fort reservoirs, but would bring the tourists bottled water, which was now lying unused.
He added that the village houses had solar panels because of which they had working light and could recharge their cellphones.
Another resident Nakabai Umbre (60) said that she had never used LPG for cooking, nor had she watched TV programmes.
The lack of medical facilities is another disadvantage for them, she said. “When my pregnant daughter needed urgent medical attention four years ago, we had no choice but to transport her to the nearest hospital in Lonavla. She delivered her baby midway, before reaching the hospital,” she said.
Ayush Prasad, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pune zilla parishad, said there were at least seven such hamlets in the district, which were quite remote and had difficult terrain to provide basic facilities to.
“We are trying to work things out with the forest department for the roads, electricity and the water supply,” he said.
