The
Padayatra was in Raiwadi yesterday. This is almost the half way mark.. the
Padayatra has covered over 500 kms… joining the Padayatra for 2 days was Prof K
C Malhotra, well known anthropologist and a guru to many in the social
development sector.
Raiwadi is
a small village of around 1600 souls merely 5 km from the tehsil headquarters
of Loha in Nanded district. The 4 member assessment team threw up some very
peculiar features of the village that set our mind whirring… there was a sense
of déjà vu. We had seen and heard the same stories from Beed and Latur…. From
the villages that were close to urban centres…
Most small
urban centres throw up images of pollution, congestion, slums, lack of civic
amenities etc… however, urbanization also means some other things… a more aware
citizenry, better medical facilities, better education, more job opportunities,
lesser distress migration for long periods, better access to markets… All in all
urbanization could be good news… In many cases it is.
Then why
the feeling of disquiet? We thought about it hard and long and tried to pin
point the problems that urbanization is bringing in…. to the villages in and
around these centres…
Most
people (read males) from these fringe villages commute to these urban centres
on a daily basis… they spend most of their time working in the town and are not
much connected with what happens in the village…
Since these
urban centres are often hungry for expansion, small farmers in these fringe
villages find their land being sought after… few are able to resist the
blandishments of builders and developers and end up selling their land… they
get money which seems quite a lot, seen from a farmers’ perspective… in most
cases this is the first time that they have seen so much money at one time..
what does not come with the money is the ability to invest it and use it
wisely… the result… a burst of spending and prosperity followed by abject
poverty… the money runs out and there are no assets left… very often the family
does not possess skills to survive in these circumstances… farmers are reduced
to landless labourers…
Politically
active men in these villages find it convenient to reach the town and while
away time at tea shops that dot the main road… they want to meet ‘important’
people, be seen with them and thus boost their own self esteem and image… one
finds more ‘politically active’ men in these fringe villages than the more
remote ones… once party politics enters
in the village, one can literally kiss the concept of unity goodbye… we have
seen this time and again..
Many youth
take to driving autos and jeeps as means of livelihood.. with sky rocketing
prices of diesel and petrol, kerosene becomes a good alternative… there are no
pollution control measures operational on Rural Indian roads anyway… one can
suddenly see PDS kerosene been sold at Rs. 40/- per litre (no joke) to people
who want it for silly things like cooking… and lighting up their homes…
Prohibition
measures taken up by women (if 50% of the women voters in a village / town
demand prohibition, police are duty
bound to close down liquor shops) often fail… one may close liquor shops in the
village but it is so easy to get drunk in the town and then stagger back… after
all the own community can rarely get mobilized enough to ensure prohibition in
the town anyway….
People in
these villages are reaping the benefits and bearing the brunt of their
proximity to the villages… they have not learnt to balance these… a very
different sensitization process may be needed for these fringe villages…
For the
next few days the Padayatra may be in places which have no access to the
Internet. It is possible that the next report comes in on Friday… rather than
Thursday. We hope that the regular readers bear with us…
The MAHARASHTRA
VIKAS NIDHI (MAHARASHTRA DEVELOPMENT FUND) awaits contributions from all of
you… Watch this space for further updates. Do also watch the blog at www.greenearthconsulting.org/padayatraprogress.htm.
Also read a compilation of some stories on www.empowerpoor.org
grnearth@vsnl.com, 020-25466103,
09422521703
Dushkaal
Hatawu : Manoos Jagawu
(Eradicate
Drought : Save Humanity)
January 30,
2006