As we write this
report the Padayatris are returning home and trying to come to grips with the
fact that the Padayatra is finally over… The bodies may be battered but the
emotional high of the last three days at Sewagram and Nagpur will sustain for a
long time. It has been a fascinating period for all of us involved in the
process. We have all been touched and enriched.
To just
give a flavour of what happened
·
The
Padayatris walked 944 kms over 58 days…
·
Over
12,000 people walked in the Padayatra for some time at least. We actually have
names and addresses of all of these…
·
Detailed
assessments were undertaken in 48 villages on the Padayatra route and 12 other
villages on the route of the parallel Padayatra that was undertaken in
Yavatmal.
·
The
Padayatris reached out to around 84,000 people through interactions in 153
villages.
The Padayatra formally
ended with a silent walk through Bapu kuti at 11 am on the 28th of
February. Over 250 persons participated in the debriefing process at Sewagram
on the 28th of February. Listening to the debriefing and reacting to
it were some of the most well known luminaries in the development field.
On the next day over
150 people participated in the ‘what next’ planning meeting.
250 people took the
oath to eradicate drought on the 2nd of March. The oath was
administered by Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari to the drought warriors on
the hallowed grounds of the Dikshabhoomi.
All of these were tremendously exciting processes and
cannot be captured in a few words that form this report. We will therefore not
attempt to do that. We shall shortly be writing up detailed reports and putting
them up on the website…
This is the last of
the Sitreps that we will be sending you.. We wish to thank all of you who have been receiving these reports and
more importantly getting back to us and keeping our spirits high.
For us
the journey has just begun… The Padayatra was but a first step in the journey
to eradicate drought from the lives of the people. We are sure that you will be
with us all the way… so don’t go away… watch this space… The Padayatra may be
over but the war has just begun… This was just the reveille…
grnearth@vsnl.com, 020-25466103,
09422521703
Dushkaal Hatawu :
Manoos Jagawu
(Eradicate Drought :
Save Humanity)
March 03, 2006