Budha Paswan, who has the card and worked for all of seven days, says he has little hope of finding more work.

Even the bazaar samiti is being constructed by labour brought in from outside the village, the same is true of the aanganwadi kendra that is also coming up in Sikaria.

The village is pinning all its hopes on another visit by Nitish Kumar. Villagers have heard the chief minister will drive down the road again on January 21, 2007 to assess the programme he launched in January. That is when it will all happen again, they say. The electricity cable will be repaired, the jobs will come, so will the midday meal and there will be an internet connection at the computer centre.

(Tomorrow: Some order in the law and order)