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| Unity in
water |
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| Necessity:
The mother of innovation |
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| No
compromise here |
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| End of the line -
Bringing water to Tarasara village |
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| Sweet success |
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Water can cause conflict, but it can
also unite opposing factions, as happened in Rampar village
in Bhavnagar taluka. |
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In Rampar, there were two distinct
groups, one loyal to the present sarpanch, Nakubhai and the
other loyal to Dhirubhai, a former sarpanch. These two factions
were the cause of major hurdles in the village’s progress.
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Meanwhile, the villagers had a severe
lack of drinking water for several years. No solution could be
found as the groups refused to work together. Initially, when the Ghogha
project was introduced in the village by Medhavi and WASMO,
there was no positive response from the community. Not
willing to give up easily, the efforts by these two organisations continued. Gradually the villagers began to
understand the novel approach proposed and the benefits that
would accrue. |
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| The two leaders decided to bury their
past differences and work together. They convinced the community
to get involved. Both of them took active part in the construction
activities. Their efforts bore fruit when the in-village water
supply scheme was commissioned and they assumed responsibility
during the Atmarpan ceremony on November 30, 2004. |
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The village now has two water sources:
piped water through the Mahi pipeline and the local well. Thus
the project has ushered in drinking water security and opened
the doors of village development. Villagers now know the
strength of working together. |
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The empowered villagers and partners in
the Ghogha project have used their mind and money to optimise
the facilities created. |
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In Koliyak village, looking at the
demand and requirement, the villagers converted a two-tap stand
post into a four-tap one. The cost of this conversion was borne
by the community. Another stand-post was constructed by the
panchayat and paid for by the local residents. This is among
those villages where the community has taken pains to ensure
that the construction is good and so is its maintenance |
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| In Hathab village, the villagers got a
second stand-post made by the contractor, who they paid Rs 4,000
from their own pockets. Quality standards were met. |
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| In villages like Hathab zone-2 due to
poor availability of water, the snanghat was dry. The stand-post
beside the washing platform was also dry. Both the units are
situated outside the Kakadwadi Talav primary school, which has
more than 500 students. The students had no drinking water as it
did not reach the area. To quench the thirst of the students,
the farmers made connections from their personal wells to the
storage tank of the washing platform. From there, a connection has been made
to the stand-post and a plastic valve has been fitted to
regulate the flow. All the school children now drink water from
this stand-post. |
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| A storage tank and hand-pump was
provided under the project to the primary school at Hathab
Bangla. The small hand-pump as well as the cover of the tank is
locked with chains so that after school hours no one damages or
tampers with the system. The surroundings are clean and well
maintained. |
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| No
compromise here |
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| The Ghogha project has helped develop
women entrepreneurs. These women contributed significantly to
the programme, which in turn gave them the confidence to pursue
economic activities. |
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| In 2004, Tidiben of Navaratanpar forced
a contractor to halt sub-standard quality construction. Tidiben,
a "backward community" member, is part of the village
pani
samiti. She and other village women discovered their strength
through the Ghogha project. |
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| Premjibhai, the village Sarpanch, gives
full credit to the women. He says, "When the programme was
introduced in our village, we went to the women and requested
them to participate. The women made sure that the construction
was of good quality. They set an example for others to follow." |
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| Navaratanpar, a coastal village 22
kilometers away from Bhavnagar town, was facing severe drinking
water shortages. Earlier in summer seasons, the panchayat used to call tankers to
meet the drinking water requirements during summer and the women
used to spend their entire day in meeting household water needs.
This is no longer the case. The water, now available at
stand-posts, has provided immense relief. The women can now take
care of their children, who are able to attend school regularly.
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| Capacity building and participation
under the programme has boosted the women's confidence. Tidiben
and Harshaben Sumara are members of a self-help group. They bid
for a contract for a fish pond dam near Palitana and were awarded the tender. Despite facing threats from
other male bidders, they went ahead. Members of the group have
visited far off places like Gorakhpur for selling their catch.
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successful businesswoman, Harshaben says, “We realised our
strength during the implementation of the Ghogha project. We
started attending meetings and going to the banks. Our decisions
were respected during meetings.” |
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| The pre-construction training received
during the programme has been used to check the quality of construction
under another government scheme - the Pradhan Mantri Gramin
Sadak Yojna (Prime Minister's Rural Roads Scheme). When the
roads were being constructed, Tidiben and other women compelled
the road contractor to use proper material. Tidiben's
explanation is simple: |
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| “Now we know that public money is being
used, it is our duty to see that the money is appropriately
utilised. Besides, being a construction laborer, I know what
quality work is.” |
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End of the
Line – Bringing Water to Tarasara Village |
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Tarasara
is the last
village to receive water from the Mahi pipeline in Bhavnagar
district. Access to clean drinking water had been a problem for
the villagers for several years. Its remote location, the lack
of roads and the rampant growth of prosopis julifora
obstructing any entry to the village had made the approach to
Tarasara forbidding. In fact, two major reasons why help by way
of government schemes and private efforts was difficult to come
by were because it was difficult to negotiate one’s way into the
village, and the distant location. |
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“The water available in the village was
unfit for drinking. It was turbid and bitter. We had to
routinely depend on tankers for providing us drinking water,”
said Dhirubhai, the village Sarpanch. One of the first steps
Dhirubhai initiated to bring Tarasara within mainstream
development was to clear the roads of prosopis julifora.
Subsequently, when the Mahi pipeline was brought up to the
village, the Ghogha project was implemented for addressing the
drinking water needs of the residents. The tankers are now
history, as drinking water is readily available for the 3100
villagers. |
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Getting
the people together to manage their operation and maintenance of
the water supply systems has not always been smooth and easy.
However, the O&M tariff structure is now in place and an annual
sum of Rs. 25 is charged per head. “Some of the people pledge
their allegiance to the former sarpanch and refuse to pay the
water charges. To tackle the situation, we have approached the
taluka officials and have requested them not to process any
applications of the defaulting villagers so that they get
pressurized into paying their dues,” says Dhirubhai. |
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| Sweet success |
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Mithi Virdi
was once famous for the sweet water available from virdas.
However, over the last decades, wells in this coastal
village had either dried up or turned saline. The village was
declared as ‘no source’ village and it had effected the
agriculture productions also. Under the Ghogha project, the Pani
Samiti with community contribution and technical support from
WASMO, at a cost of Rs. 6.48 lakh, constructed a check dam. |
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The
construction was completed before 2003 monsoon. Post monsoon,
the villagers were already reporting a rise in the water table
and improvement in water quality. Monitoring of the water table
in 24 wells around check dams has indicated a rise between 3 to
12 meters. The benefits gained have built up the confidence of
the community and they have constructed a tidal control check
dam at a cost of Rs. 13.54 lakh with financial and technical
assistance from WASMO and community contribution and also have
willingly taken up the responsibility of maintaining of the
structures. |
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