Village Exposure Programme

JSLPS(21st to 23rd June 2019)

A Rural outreach program done to understand how the rural

population lives and what are the problems they face

Aayush Garg(G19051)
Abhishek Gupta(G19052)
Abhishek Kumar(G19053)
Anju Srivastava(G19056)
Dipanwita Kundu(G19063)
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Moon City 3

Pokhlabera Trip 4

Anganwadi visit 5

Farm Visit 6

Mahaulbuna Trip 7

Lawa visit 9

JSLPS Block Meeting 10

We were tasked by our university to conduct a Village trip where we had to meet villagers and
observe their lifestyle, problems and aspirations under a designated NGO. The NGO allotted to us
was JSLPS(Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society).

Moon City (DDU training centre) (Friday 8:30 AM to 9:30AM)

Our rural immersion program started with a visit to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay training centre
working under the aegis of JSLPS in Jamshedpur. We met with our co-ordinator Mr. Rajendra at DDU
training centre in Moon City Jamshedpur. We were told about the structures of JSLPS and how it
works from the state level to the rural villages and was trying to provide opportunities of
development and better life to the under-privileged part of our population. We were fortunate
enough to see the training of girls from different regions of the state being trained to earn their
livelihood through skill impartment and personality development. The target of the training process
is to impart professional and technical skills to these girls and make them ready for the industry of
employment in the textile and garment manufacturing sector. We were pleasantly surprised to see
them conversing in English and using technology via computers and hi-tech sewing machines. The
girls who were trained here were then placed in Gujarat, Kerela and Tamilnadu and are thus able to
provide for themselves and their families. It’s a great initiative by the government for empowering
women from tribal areas with requisite skills to make their lives better.
From here we were given instructions to contact Ms Amita at Patamda who would direct our village
outreach program going forward.

Pokhlabera Trip (Friday 3:15 PM to 4:45 PM)

Pokhlabera was the 1st village we visited. A village which had a combination of good and unpaved
roads. We started with the SHG which at that day was just being organised by the AO (Active
Woman) who was also working as MBK(Major Book Keeper) since the last MBK got married very
recently.

Pokhlabera is a very remote village with a host of problems they were facing, primary of them being
water and electricity. No fixed supply of drinking water was present there. Municipality tapping
water supply was there only if the electric connection is available. Permanent water supply was
completely absent. Similarly for electricity, though most of the homes are connected by electricity
lines, it is not there for at least half of a day.
While a clinic not being inaccessible range is a problem, Villagers were also concerned with the
problems of education. Only primary school is there for students till class 6. High school facility is not
available. And even these schools lack regular teachers since these teachers are not paid well and
hence they leave and join other schools at some other places. This is actually affecting the education
of the children of the village since most of the parents refrain from sending their children to local
schools.

JSLPS has been doing a great job here. They have been helping the localities with job cards,
Ayushmaan Bharat cards, Pension card, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Jan
Dhan Yojana, among many others. They have been spreading awareness regarding different
Government schemes amongst villagers. They are providing loans to the people for their
requirement. However, there underlies a concern, if the loan amount is reaching the villagers as
intended and they are able to utilise the amount in a proper manner for their betterment and
welfare.

Women are actively forming SHGs (Self Help Groups). Each SHG includes 12-15 women. They meet
once in a while and discuss about the issues of the village and try to find out the resolutions. The
member who leads a particular SHG plays the role of an active woman. Each member of the SHG has
bank accounts in their name. Also, if required, they borrow money or take loans from the banks for
their well-being (buying fertilisers, etc.). By the help of these SHGs, the women have been able to
come out of their homes and find an identity for themselves, meet the BDO themselves and discuss
the problems and their solutions. More and more of such SHGs are coming up every day, which
should help these communities to grow and prosper in the future.

Anganwadi visit (Saturday 9:45 AM to 10:30 AM)

“How much do you get for a month?”

“ I have not got my salary for 6 months”

Our visit on Saturday started with a visit to Basgadh Aaganwadi centre. When we entered it was
already the end of the school that day and only 5-6 kids were there. We were told that in around 25
kids attending there majority belong to the Adivasi community.
We noticed that there was a lack of cleanliness around. A lot of waste and dust was there in the
room. We distributed chocolates among the kids and tried to ask the children about alphabets. One
child was able to recite all the alphabets of English vocabulary. The children seemed jovial and
teachers also looked happy to see visitors from outside. It was at this place where we met a fellow
group from our college who were visiting that place under TSRD. They were leaving as we came in
for the visit.

When asked about the food, it was told that khichdi was given regularly and special food packets
were sent for children every fourth Thursday. The Aaganwadi constitutes of a teacher and a helper.

Teachers are given a salary of ₹5600 and the helper is given a salary of ₹2200 and they were not
given salary in last 6 months.

As we start going out of the Aaganwadi, we gave a suggestion to put a bit more emphasis on keeping
the surroundings clean as they can have a good impact on children for them to develop it as habit
and they can go along a long way in the life. It could also be good for overall village as it will help
them as well as their children to avoid some very common diseases which can arise due to dirt and
unclean surroundings.It was around 10:30 when we left that place for our next visit.

The Farm visit(10:40 AM to 11:30AM)

Just few hundred metres from the Aaganwadi was our next destination. Moving through the
unpaved roads and besides nearby farms and lake we reached a farm which was using “Johar”
scheme by JSLPS to earn high yielding seeds. Right in between the farm there was a dome like
structure which was used by the farmer to raise experimental crops which if successful, were later
used in the farms.

The whole structure was filled with large rectangular containers filled with soil in which they used to
test the crops like tomato, cauliflower and potatoes. They also had Mat with spoon sized holes
which were filled with pepper seeds to let them grow up to saplings in protective environment and
once they grew to a safe size, they were transported to the field.

The dome was filled with sprinkler systems and water pipelines and covered from all sides by a
small fence to give them a proper protected environment to test their crops and raise some
vulnerable crops to a safe size.
When we came out of the dome we were shown around the fields and how they were growing
different types of crops as well as how they had to prepare for a certain types of crops well in
advance. For example, since by the time they would sow tomato in a field, nearby fields will already
be filled with crops and saplings. Hence they had to call a tractor and get the field ploughed around a
month before they would have done it.

They were also growing cucumber and brinjals in their fields but some of them were already ripe and
they had not started taking them out. When asked about this, they told us that it was just since the
day before when market went for around ₹ 25-26 per kg for cucumber, before that it was around ₹4-
5 per kg which was less then their investment cost and hence they decided to let their crops remain
in the field at the risk of letting it rot. As per them a cold storage would have gone a long way in
getting them good profit and making the profession a bit safer.

MahaulBuna Trip (12:15 – 2:00 PM)

“What will you do once your daughters have done 12th.”

“We will get them married”

“No. Please don’t” said our team member Dipanwita in a loud voice and it was followed by a bout of
laughter in public. The ladies in our group told the women to allow their daughters to go to work,
even giving the example of JSLPS schools we had visited a day earlier where village girls were being
trained and placed in companies after their vocational training.

We reached Mahaulbuna at 12:15 PM in the afternoon. It was a remote village with around 400
families. As per the composition, 250 families were Adivasi, and 150 families belonged to SC/ST
community. The villagers are mainly involved in poultry and agriculture as the main source of
livelihood.

Around 20 women were given/supported by Poultry Foundation to set up a poultry farm for chicken.
Each woman was given around 450 chicks to grow up along with grains and water to feed them in
the shed. Once the cocks are mature enough to be sold, they are weighted and classified
accordingly. An index for weight is used according to which women are paid using the scale. Women
were paid from ₹ 3000 to ₹ 4500 as per the scale. The money paid to women is only for the labour as
the raw materials are provided by Poultry Foundation, and also the end product is also paid for by
them.

The villagers themselves are still facing a lot of problems, water and electricity being the primary
ones among them. Water has been a huge problem for the village people as they have to go over
large distances to get water. “You have to either walk for 2 hours in the afternoon or take water
from nearby well by 4 AM” says a villager who is a part of the meeting. It was told to our group that
collecting for water and other resources during the day leaves the chickens alone and the women in
charge of looking after them are not able to look after them at the time of day when chickens need
looking after the most. Even at the places where there was solar power of water motor, it was not
able to fill water enough for the day but just for the needs of 2-3 hours.

After water, electricity is another problem the villagers are facing. When we visited the village we
were told that electricity has not been there for more than two days. The power for poultry houses
were handled by the solar power. The scarcity of electricity also restricts their productive time to day
hours, a disadvantage during winter season which combined with low output of solar during that
period, makes it an even bigger problem.

When asked about the government schemes, a lot of people were recipient of one of the many
schemes of the government. Some women were given gas connection under Ujjwala scheme while
some more were going to send their requests for the scheme. Some people were given homes under
PM Awaas Yojana and even under the old Indira Awaas Yojana. Overall around the group of around
40-50 people, around 20-25 were given benefits under one or other scheme but overall coverage of
every scheme individually was less than 8-10 people in the group.

Lawa trip (3:30PM-4: 45 PM)

“What do you think should be given the highest priority by the administration in your village?”

“Teachers of better quality for our children.”

Attached to Patamba is the Lawa village. A village which is extremely well connected and thus has a
lot of advantages when it comes to government schemes and thus a village with resources. While
places like Mahaulbuna and Pokhlabera are struggling for electricity and water; there seems to be no
such major problem in Lava, which is why it should come as no surprise that in their list of problems,
children’s education came at highest Priority. The main problem here was that while resources and
facility were available, there was no proper guidance for children.

Water, though not a major problem as Large water Jars(20 L) are available here, is still an issue.
Wells in the area go low in the summer and solar-powered motors can only take water up to a
limited capacity in summer. It would not be able to do even that much once monsoon arrives.

While being asked about the government schemes, they seemed to be very happy with Direct
Benefit Transfer scheme (DBT), as it has removed the commission(bribe) they earlier had to give to
the local authorities. “Manrega ka 170 mein se 120 hi milta tha bas(earlier we used to get only 120
out of 170 we were owed by the government in MGNREGA). As per the ladies in SHG, it helped them
in better implementation of other schemes like Swachh Bharat (Clean India Initiative) etc.
JSLPS Block Meeting (5:45 PM to 6:15PM)

At the final meeting with Ms Amita (Area co-ordinator for Patamba and surrounding 84 villages). We
made the following points.

1.) Water:- Everywhere we went, water was an issue. Even where there were solar pumps for
water extraction, it was not working as well as expected. Temporarily at the very least, we
need to raise the power retention and Battery capacity of solar powered systems so that
they can be used up to 10-12 hours a day.
2.) Electricity:- In places like Pokhlabera and Mahaulbuna, electricity is a major issue as
electricity supply has not been consistent there. Power cuts up to even 24 hours is a normal
thing for them. While solar could be a good help, they need to be added to the main power
lines for a more consistent power supply.
3.) Human Resource Utilisation:- A lot of men in the villages were involved for a few months in
agriculture only. Other occupations could be made for them or JSLPS can coordinate with
NGOs responsible in that direction.
4.) Cold Storage:- A lot of times farmers are forced to bargain for lesser prices for their products
or let their products perish. Availability of cold storage, jus ton a temporary basis for 2-3
weeks for these products can help farmers regulate the market or at the very least give
them an upper hand in the bargaining in the market.
5.) Hygiene:- While visiting Aaganwadi we noticed that there was a hygiene issue and requested
JSLPS to work on the Anganwadi and general cleanliness
6.) Wash Area by lakes:- During our commune between various places, we noticed that people
were washing clothes and taking a bath in the lakes which pollute the lake water. We
recommended them to construct the washing area by the sides of the lake which will keep
lake waters clean.
7.) Ambulance:- the idea of an Ambulance service was given for every 5-8 km span of villages so
that they have commune in the area in case of medical emergency.
8.) Cell network:- It was noted in many areas that there was no cell network. It makes the point
of having ambulances moot if there are No. means to contact them. We were told that there
were plans to get more mobile towers in the area so that mobile connectivity could be
reached.
9.) Road Connectivity:- We noticed as well as were told that the general connectivity in the area
by roads is around 50%-60% at best. Even at some places we saw good roads breaking into
pathway roads.