Agra: People in former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth place Bateshwar, 75 km from here, were angry over the slow pace of development in this backward region close to the dreaded Chambal ravines.
Subodh Sharma, a local activist, said: "There are no industries, no new colleges, medical facilities are lacking, connectivity remains poor and the locals suffer power and water shortages round the year."
Vajpayee, along with late freedom fighter-educationist Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, was Wednesday named for the Bharat Ratna. Both of them share their birthday Dec 25.
The rail link from Bah, seven km away, to Etawah is still to be completed. The bridge in Pinahat to cross Chambal, whose foundation stone was laid by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, is yet to begin.
The ancestral home of Vajpayee is also in a shambles.
Vajpayee's relatives, however, have no regrets as they think the former prime minister never put self interests before national interests unlike other leaders who have favoured their villages or birth places.
Vajpayee was born in Bateshwar and received his primary education in the town.
Vajpayee's family later shifted to Gwalior but his connection with Bateshawar continued and during the freedom movement he is believed to have participated in some demonstrations.
Bateshwar, on the banks of the Yamuna, is famous for its 101 Shiva temples in a row. It finds mention in the Mahabharata and is popular with the Jains for the temples at Shoripur in the neighbourhood.
