The roads to Garo Para in Uttar Panialguri village are just layers of mud and pebbles. A part of the predominantly tribal Alipurduar II block, one of six blocks in the district with a population of 70 lakh, the village is in the Buxa Tiger Reserve. With a population of 3,896, the village, in the Dooars, the foothills of the Himalayas, is surrounded by forests with trees as diverse as sal, teak, jackfruit, and mango.
Nothing much has changed here for decades, say the villagers, mostly from the Garo tribal community, except for the Anganwadi Centre that was set up 16 years ago in a hut, where about 50 children come, six days a week.
