One hundred and three kilometres from Mumbai, the tribal residents of the 120 households in the hamlets of Karambali Thakurwadi and Kadai Dhangarwada, in Khalapur taluka of Raigad district, fight an ongoing battle for a road that connects them to the world outside, for clean drinking water and a local school for their children. Matters get worse in the monsoon when reaching the next village even gets dangerous in the hilly terrain.   

The villagers allege that the central government’s flagship scheme Ujjwala Yojana, and toilets built under the Swachh Bharat programme, are still on paper; most households could not afford to replace the first cylinder they procured under the scheme for Rs 100 and have returned to using firewood. Because of the lack of water supply, work on some toilets was abandoned mid-way. These are now being used as storage rooms for stocking firewood.