GORIA : The indoor shooting range on the first floor of Universal Senior Secondary School teems with inspirational quotes, and photographs of its most remarkable student, Manu Bhaker . It was in this shooting range where a teenage Manu — India’s lone sportsperson to win two medals in one Olympics — learnt and sharpened her craft in her early years
“This is where it began in 2016. Her early national and international medals were earned from the work she put here,” says her merchant navy man father Ram Kishan Bhaker pointing towards a quote on the beam. “I will win not immediately but definitely,” it says. Nowadays around 70 young shooters aim to hit the bull’s eye in the range. The school, spread over four green acres, is the heartwarming highlight of Goria. But it’s the huge portions of inundated agricultural land across the sprawling village, located on the edge of Jhajjar district, that catches the eye. Bajra (pearl millet) and cotton are the main crops here. “Anaj sadh raha hai (Crops are rotting),” says Dharamvir Singh, a retired army man.
Villagers partly blame a nearby power plant for the waterlogging mess. However, it is learnt that excessive rains, overflow from a nearby canal, as well as low-lying land, have combined to create a drainage problem. Whatever the reason, Goria is suffering.
Ram Kishan says the submerged farmland has spawned a swarm of mosquitoes and bred water-borne diseases. “Villagers have been asking for a hospital for years. Public transport is almost zero. Just one or two buses come in the morning. Those who have private vehicles are okay. But for others, there’s nothing,” he says. It isn’t just the farmland. In the last week of September, the village main road was flooded.
Goria comes under the vastly rural Jhajjar assembly seat, reserved for Scheduled Castes. About 19% of voters are SC. Congress ’ Geeta Bhukkal, 56, an advocate and a former education minister, has been winning the seat since 2009. But Bhukkal’s vote share has fallen sharply from a high 60% (2009) to a more modest 42% (2019). Her foremost challengers are BJP’s Kaptan Birdhana, a 54-year-old businessman, Dushyant Chautala-led JJP’s Naseeb Soni and BSP’s Dharambir Singh. BSP is in alliance with Abhay Singh Chautala’s INLD for the Oct 5 polls.
Jats are numerically the largest caste in Goria, which has roughly 3,600 voters. Other castes include Brahmins, OBCs and SCs. Most Jats, says Mahinder Singh, chairman, Universal School, will stamp the ballot for Congress. “We will be voting for Congress for Bhupinder Hooda and Deepender Hooda,” says Mahinder. Manvir Singh, a kumhar (potter) by caste, says that most kumhars in the village have been traditionally Congress voters.
In the Harijan chaupal, Dalits complain about absence of drainage and poor drinking water facility. “For us the choice is between Congress and BSP. Most are inclined towards Congress,” says Bhoop Singh, a dalit.
Manu’s double bronze medal in Paris 2024 brought hordes of local politicians to Goria. Old felicitation posters still adorn the village walls. For all its misfortunes, the village is still exultant at her success. But the shooter isn’t the only successful sportsperson from the village.
There’s Haney Goria, who claimed javelin (F37) gold, setting a record in the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year. “His unparalleled skill has ushered in boundless joy and pride for India,” PM Narendra Modi had gushed on X then.
But Haney’s father Surendra is unhappy. “My son hasn’t received the cash prize that every Asian Games gold medal winner in Haryana is entitled to,” he says
“This is where it began in 2016. Her early national and international medals were earned from the work she put here,” says her merchant navy man father Ram Kishan Bhaker pointing towards a quote on the beam. “I will win not immediately but definitely,” it says. Nowadays around 70 young shooters aim to hit the bull’s eye in the range. The school, spread over four green acres, is the heartwarming highlight of Goria. But it’s the huge portions of inundated agricultural land across the sprawling village, located on the edge of Jhajjar district, that catches the eye. Bajra (pearl millet) and cotton are the main crops here. “Anaj sadh raha hai (Crops are rotting),” says Dharamvir Singh, a retired army man.
Villagers partly blame a nearby power plant for the waterlogging mess. However, it is learnt that excessive rains, overflow from a nearby canal, as well as low-lying land, have combined to create a drainage problem. Whatever the reason, Goria is suffering.
Ram Kishan says the submerged farmland has spawned a swarm of mosquitoes and bred water-borne diseases. “Villagers have been asking for a hospital for years. Public transport is almost zero. Just one or two buses come in the morning. Those who have private vehicles are okay. But for others, there’s nothing,” he says. It isn’t just the farmland. In the last week of September, the village main road was flooded.
Goria comes under the vastly rural Jhajjar assembly seat, reserved for Scheduled Castes. About 19% of voters are SC. Congress ’ Geeta Bhukkal, 56, an advocate and a former education minister, has been winning the seat since 2009. But Bhukkal’s vote share has fallen sharply from a high 60% (2009) to a more modest 42% (2019). Her foremost challengers are BJP’s Kaptan Birdhana, a 54-year-old businessman, Dushyant Chautala-led JJP’s Naseeb Soni and BSP’s Dharambir Singh. BSP is in alliance with Abhay Singh Chautala’s INLD for the Oct 5 polls.
Jats are numerically the largest caste in Goria, which has roughly 3,600 voters. Other castes include Brahmins, OBCs and SCs. Most Jats, says Mahinder Singh, chairman, Universal School, will stamp the ballot for Congress. “We will be voting for Congress for Bhupinder Hooda and Deepender Hooda,” says Mahinder. Manvir Singh, a kumhar (potter) by caste, says that most kumhars in the village have been traditionally Congress voters.
In the Harijan chaupal, Dalits complain about absence of drainage and poor drinking water facility. “For us the choice is between Congress and BSP. Most are inclined towards Congress,” says Bhoop Singh, a dalit.
Manu’s double bronze medal in Paris 2024 brought hordes of local politicians to Goria. Old felicitation posters still adorn the village walls. For all its misfortunes, the village is still exultant at her success. But the shooter isn’t the only successful sportsperson from the village.
There’s Haney Goria, who claimed javelin (F37) gold, setting a record in the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou last year. “His unparalleled skill has ushered in boundless joy and pride for India,” PM Narendra Modi had gushed on X then.
But Haney’s father Surendra is unhappy. “My son hasn’t received the cash prize that every Asian Games gold medal winner in Haryana is entitled to,” he says
