In Uttarakhand’s Ghost Village, This Lone Resident’s Choti Si Asha

66-year-old Vimla is the only resident in Uttarakhand’s Bondul village. As elections approach, she has a small wish.

(Photo: The Quint)

Bandul village in Uttarakhand greets outsiders with empty houses, locked doors and a widow who lives there alone.

66-year-old Vimla is the lone resident of this village, one of the many ghost settlements in the state’s remote rural belts.

“Earlier the place was full. There were people everywhere, eating, drinking, living together. But because of lack of infrastructure and schools, people started migrating. Now I am here alone,” Vimla tells The Quint.

According to certain estimates, missing opportunities in the state have turned as many as 3,500 villages into ghost settlements. Out of 16,000 villages, 1,000 were abandoned between 2001 and 2011. With elections approaching, this issue will be of political importance. Amidst the political tension, Vimla has a choti si aasha.

Camera and reporting: Ashutosh Singh

Producer: Hansa Malhotra

Editor: Mohd Ibrahim