Gujarat village that puts metros to shame
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Ahmedabad, 21 May 2012: Think of an Indian village and what comes to mind are images of mooing cows, open drains and children playing ants and frog games. But, Punsari, a motley village in Himmatnagar, talks about wi-fi and optical fiber broadband network, its children spend best of their times in air-conditioned classrooms with CCTV cameras. The village also boasts of its own mini-bus transport system and there are 25-odd CCTVs located on important junctions to spot litterbugs.
If you think this village is drenched in NRI funds, think again. Not a single rupee has come from across the seven seas, instead the village managed its funds over the last five years that it received from central and state sponsored developmental schemes.
"The village panchayat pays an annual premium of Rs 25 lakh against insurance for each of the 6,000 villagers who have a cover of Rs 1 lakh and a mediclaim policy of Rs 25,000. Our schools have zero dropout rates, CCTV cameras in classrooms help us keep watch on teachers in classrooms. Our reverse osmosis plant supplies 20-litre cans to houses for a token cost of Rs 4. These are bare essentials for a standard life today and why should our village be behind," claims the village sarpanch Hemant Patel, 29.
The village panchayat had a capital of Rs 25,000 five years ago. Today, the deposits have soared to Rs 75 lakh. "The turn-around happened when we sold part of our grazing land as plotted schemes to various communities. The money is deposited in government coffers," says Patel. The village received rewards from the central government and the state governments recently.
District development officer Ravi Arora told TOI, "There is not a single family in Punsari which has an NRI family member. The village has just managed its accounts well and villagers here agreed on a co-operative approach to development."
| Comments on this Article | |
| Philip Mudartha, Qatar | Thu, May-24-2012, 10:24 |
| Sarath was born in a slum in Chennai. To raise five young children, his mother did various jobs including making idlis. Sarath sold them on the streets before going to school daily. After graduating from IIM-A, Sarath refused a tempting job offer and set up his own catering business. He believed that instead of taking up a job, his own company can provide a job to one, who can support four lives..Having known hunger, Sarath started Hunger Free India Foundation in 2010. In the first year, the foundation distributed food to 10,000 people including children from 40 orphanages across India. The foundation celebrates October 10 as Hunger Free Day every year..So far, about 8 lakh people have benefited through the foundation, which works towards eradicating hunger. When you are hungry, you do not have any other feeling..This year onwards, the plan is to distribute 1 lakh free notebooks to children to motivate them to pursue education.. This positive and motivational news story is at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/World-Bank-honours-IIM-As-idli-making-graduate/articleshow/12271000.cms?intenttarget=no | |
| Charles D Mello, Pangala | Wed, May-23-2012, 1:16 |
| I disagree with Mr.Philip Mudartha, Qatar .... BV is equally good as DW but we (including me) have been glued to DW because of the news -ve and ve......My blood group is also AB ve and I have also moved to the country where u live in. Although BV was the first media I saw,when I started my internet viewing way back in 1997or 1996, I am glued to DW. ve and -Ve news is part and parcel of our life. We can not expect everything must be ve in life.BV is doing a good job..it is only a matter of time. | |
| Florine, US | Wed, May-23-2012, 9:46 |
| Mr. Philip I disagree with your comment advising the webmaster not to post certain facets of the society. What you like to read may not interest everyone. People have different tastes and interests so the BV site caters to everyone what is the problem? If there is a robbery in the town by the publishing in the media, the purpose of the news is to inform the people to be cautious and vigilant and not giving them ideas to rob. Even by highlighting on the crime it increases people's awareness and thus come together to find a solution how the crime could be stopped. I was watching a 'crime petrol' episode focused on human trafficking. This 16 year old was able to stop her neighbor from getting into their hands since some NGO's had come to her school and briefed these girls on how to look out for these social evils. It is not something to be considered as low or high value as everything cannot be measured in respect of appreciating or depreciating value. It's learning through awareness and bringing a change in the society. | |
| Philip Mudartha, Qatar | Wed, May-23-2012, 4:38 |
| @Sabi, I belong to group on Facebook that we call B ve, though my blood group is AB . The members write original or share ve articles, news, comments etc. I first got this story there and sent it to BV as a commment. Later, I was pleased to see BV posting the story from original source. I thank and congratulate BV for the ve approach. My request to BV is to increase ve stories of relevance to social change and political reform, and give least or no publicity to -ve aspects such as crime, theft, squabbles, celebrity gossips, elite controversies and such low value but high eyeball capturing ones. As for leadership, Belle has has good leaders; only they have to learn. As the saying goes, one has to come out of a painting to take a look at it and evaluate it. Our leaders will learn to come out of their silos only with continued pressure from those outside the silo. Such as you, I and others..:D | |
| Ronald Sabi, Moodubelle | Wed, May-23-2012, 1:35 |
| What a modern village. Looking at the potential if there is dedication...Moodubelle can measure upto this level if not more. Who will take the leadership? A copy of this news clip is a must read for all the villages. | |
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