Chief Minister Raman Singh on Thursday had a simple meal prepared by an MGNREGA worker, Urmila Korram, in the scorching summer heat at village Gourkheda Gram panchayat of Tengadand Development Block in Gourela region of Bilaspur district.
The woman offered 'amaadi' curry and 'chutney' with 'bhaat' under a tree. Another worker Manmati Yadav offered him 'Tendu'.
Singh is currently on a whirlwind tour of various districts under 'lok Suraj' Mission.
He boarded a helicopter in Raipur and landed on a surprise visit at the village.
The helicopter of Chief Minister landed near the under-construction Irrigation dam. The dam is being built at a cost of Rs 33 crore on river Sonkachar. It will cultivate an additional 1600 hectare agriculture land of 541 farmers.
Singh keenly observed the drawing and designs of the irrigation dam and spoke to the workers on the spot.
He walked down to the place where a small tank (dabri) is being constructed under the MGNREGA project at village Tengadand Gram Panchayat. He met women workers sitting in the shade of a tree.
Singh enquired with Urmila Korram what she was carrying in her hand. She revealed that she had 'Amaadi' curry , chutney and 'bhaat' for lunch.
Urmila offered the meals to the Chief Minister who enjoyed the delicacies and thanked the worker in native Chhattisgarhi language.
Singh sanctioned construction of a well in her agriculture field and electricity connection on her request. Another woman worker Manmati offered 'Tendu' to the Chief Minister.
The Chief Minister sat under a tree to conduct 'Choupal' at Bainamuda and spoke to many citizens and enquired about the facilities in the village and State Government social welfare schemes.
The villagers complained regarding the PDS operated by the women's self-help group in the area.
Singh agreed to hand over the fair price shop to a Co-Operative Society.
He directed the District Collector to implement the order immediately. He instructed the officials to electrify the five habitats around as soon as possible and to construct a boundary wall at the primary and middle school.
Chief Minister Raman Singh last year had stated that he will have detailed discussions regarding the drinking water facilities, health, education, developmental works and issuance of caste and birth certificates with the concerned citizens during his almost month-long tours under lok Suraj Mission.
“lok Suraj Mission will incorporate the suggestions of the villagers to make it more meaningful and useful at the ground level”, he said.
Notably, Chief Minister Raman Singh in the first phase of lok Suraj Abhiyan in February this year had suddenly reached Ramanpur village coming under Kediama Development Block of Chura region in Gariaband district on the first day of the month-long State Government’s lok Suraaj Campaign in the State.
Singh after his arrival spoke to the villagers and inquired about their demands and problems.
The Chief Minister also had tea, that was prepared by the villagers.
Notably, the Kediama village is 100 years old and was renamed as Ramanpur after the Chief Minister had resettled the villagers on May 16, 2006. There are 46 families residing in the village with a population of 250 persons.
Everyone at Ramanpur (formerly Kediama Village) of Gariaband district in Chhattisgarh was taken aback when lok Suraj- the block-to-block grievance redressal program of the state started off with Nandini Vishwakarma’s complaint.
She, like many other beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in the village of 48 families, was hesitant to use the gas stove.
Singh who was visiting the village to apprise people about the campaign responded by underlining the importance of clean energy, and chatted with Nandini about how he likes her tea.
This conversation was followed by a visit to her kitchen where the Chief Minister assisted her in getting the burner going and helped prepare the tea for himself and the host couple.