Most of them are between 20 and 40—all “eligible bachelors”, as someone in the group said. Village elders Indra Kharwar and Bansi Yadav—they are bachelors too—cheer the men at work. Over a dozen women play supporting roles. The scorching sun does nothing to beat down their spirits.

Dinanath Yadav, a 25-year-old bachelor, says, “We are not ashamed to say that we want roads if we ever hope to get married. And we are not waiting for the government anymore.” He says once the road is ready, the villages will have better access to health and education, besides basic ration. Dinanath then shares his “secret dream”—of riding a motorcycle to the village someday. “There will be nothing like getting my wife here on the pillion seat,” he says.

Ram Dayal Singh, the former sarpanch of Badwan Kurd, says Bhabhua MLA Ramchandra Singh Yadav betrayed them. “During the 2005 Assembly election campaign, he vowed not to get married till a road was built here. But he is now a married man and says he is not a fool to remain unmarried for the people of Badwan,” says Singh.

Four km away from the construction site, the twin villages rise in the distance. The villagers have to travel 40 km to get to Bhabhua in the north and Chenari to the east. Adhuara, to the south of the villages, is 30 km away. The hills frame the villages in the west.

The two Badwans—with a mix of Yadavs, Musahars and tribals—have over 3,500 people with 1,200 votes. Chandrama Singh Yadav, a social worker in the village, says the road they were building will pass through the Kaimur wildlife sanctuary and they were yet to get permission from the forest department. “The chief conservator of forests, B.N. Jha, told me there were special provisions to allow roads through sanctuaries,” says Yadav.

... contd.