Siddharthnagar is counted as one of the most backward districts in the country but village Hasuri Ausanpur in the district is far ahead with 97 per cent of households having power connections, 98 per cent residents having Aadhar cards and 95 per cent having bank accounts.
The village has Wi-Fi facility and is also gender friendly with every house painted pink - a colour which symbolises honour for women, their empowerment and also stands for social harmony.
Hasuri Ausanpur is located almost 60 km from the district headquarters of Siddharthnagar in Domariyaganj tehsil, and almost 26 km from the India-Nepal border.
According to the 2011 Census, the population of the village is 1,024, and there are around 235 families in the village, pradhan of Hasuri Ausanpur, Dilip Tripathi, told PTI.
The 38-year-old pradhan said, "There are 23 CCTVs installed in the village, which have reduced the incidents of thefts to a large extent. Apart from this, the entire village has Wi-Fi facility, and there are 23 public address systems through which announcement can be made."
Tripathi claimed that GIS mapping of the village has been done.
"I spent nearly Rs 25 lakh from my own pocket to install Wi-Fi system, Geographic Information System and public address system in the village for the larger public interest. Using GIS, we can clearly get information about each individual household of the village.
"This includes land records, whether they have a soil health card or not and whether they have toilets or not. From the government, we got nearly Rs 7.50 lakh for development of the village," he said.
The village pradhan said, "97 per cent of the households have electricity connections, 98 per cent residents have Aadhar number and 95 per cent people have bank accounts."
Tripathi said he has been inspired by the concept of Digital India of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and smart village of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
"I was also motivated by Punsari -- the model village developed in Gujarat. I went there to see how the Punsari model could be replicated in Hasuri Ausanpur."
Punsari is a village in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat.
"Some of the facilities provided by the panchayat include local mineral water supply, sewer and drainage project, a healthcare centre, banking facilities and toll-free complaint reception service," Tripathi said.
In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj had named Siddharthnagar as one of the country's 250 most backward districts out of a total of 640. It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
The village pradhan, who is an alumni of Deen Dayal Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, said efforts are on to start computer education in the village, and five computers have been donated by people. "We are also planing to start sewing centres for women of the village," he said.
Tripathi also endorses the Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA), a strategy for rural development in India, given by former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
"This will ensure that there is virtually zero exodus and migration of villagers from the village to nearby cities," Tripathi said.
Lauding the work done in Hasuri Ausanpur, chief development officer of Siddharthnagar district Anil Kumar Mishra said, "The district administration will facilitate visits by pradhans of other villages to Hasuri Ausanpur so they can seek inspiration from the turnaround, which has been brought about in the village.
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