India trip 2004
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JANUARY 20, 2004 -PUNE TO RALEGAN SIDHDHI
To many who read this, the names of Anna Hazre and the transformation of his village is perhaps known. But if you are not familiar with this ... briefly.
Anna Hazare after a stint in the Indian Army returned to his village and began a process of transformation of his village to a self reliant, proud, democratic village ruled by the citizens of the village in the true panchayat tradition- both historically and constitutionally.
Ralegan Sidhdhi is about 80 km from Pune off (thankfully) the main Aurangabad- Pune Road. We arrived unannounced as do most visitors. The office is prepared for such visitors and they come daily from many corners of India.
It is impossible not to be impressed by the achievements of this village- for it is a collective community effort. There is a simple and well organized museum that explains the transformation. Much can be written about it. But I highly recommend a visit to this place for any one who is interested in self-reliant rural development.
It is this aspect that caught the attention of Sundara Moorthy, Saravana Kumar and Dorai Rajan from Vavipalayam- the potential they saw in their own villages.
Good fortune also was with us. Anna Hazare who is normally in RS only for about 5 days a month, was not only in RS but was seated 10 feet from us in the office. He spent about an hour with us explaining his approach, his experiences and fielding questions (there were many) from the Vavipalaym visitors. I acted as a translator - Hindi to Tamizh to Hindi.
The simple message from Anna to us was this... if you want panchayati raj to succeed in India (and in it he saw potential and hope for India) then the leaders must act and respond to the will of the people at the gram sabha level. Then all kinds of improvements will follow.
A tour of the village followed. The watershed management in this village is something to behold. Inspite of 4 years of drought, there is no shortage of drinking water in this village. An inspiring place... a must on one's itinerary ...if rural development is the focus. Anna is a peaceful looking man with a mischievous child like face. Contact via [email protected]
My three friends return to Vavi by the night train and I stayed on at Hotel Jagannath.
Madhav Choudhary is an engineer (later 30s I would guess). Madhav has done things and had become disillusioned with corporate work. He has recently become interested in wind energy and hydroponic gardening/farming.
My own interest in connecting with him was to explore the possibility of wind energy generation - electrical and mechanical for rural needs. He had told me that there is an installation of a wind-solar hybrid system in the outskirts of Pune and he would take me there.
We decided that we would explore the design of a small wind system for a real life rural application where it can be installed, managed and repaired by the villagers. He also said he would put together a proposal for introducing hydroponic gardening for income generation for small land holders. Contact via [email protected]
Meet Dr. Anand Railkar
Maybe 1/4 of mile in from the main road is this two storied structure that serves as a hospital (one half) and the residence of Dr. Railkar and family. As a youngster Anand had seen the movie Hatari set in the wild preserves of Africa. What made an impression on him was the dimming light bulb in the lodge. The power source for this was a windmill and the dimming was caused by an unstable supply of power.
So when he finally decided to establish his hospital to serve the adjacent rural community, he decided he shall be independent of the grid for his electrical power needs. To this end he has erected a windmill and some photovoltaic panels and this combined system gives him the freedom to see patients, perform scheduled and emergency surgery any time 24/7.
On the small land on which this building sits he also grows vegetables, havests rainwater from the roof to recharge the ground. He has constructed a special containment tank where, by using microbes, he safely disposes of bio hazardous wastes from his medical practice.
I see potential for this for many community buildings -clinics, schools, panachayat offices, etc. NEXT TOP
