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Partnership with Peasant Women (and Men) in West Bengal -
Bankura
Consultant: Narayan Banerjee, assisted by Shri Pulak Gupta,
Meghnad Deshmukh, Swapan Chowdhury, Bimal Pakhira,
Representatives of Nari Bikash Sangha and others
Like the previous year, 2010-11 also continued to
remain a politically disturbed period in major parts
of the CWDS project area. Local offices, schools,
public transport, weekly markets, shops and business
establishments etc continued to remain closed
frequently at short notice. Security forces
patrolled the area including the forests. Women who
had to go to forests to collect wood for fuel,
forest produce like Kendu and Sal leaves and seeds
etc. on which the tribal families depend
considerably faced uncomfortable questions from
security forces or were advised to return home. Men
& women were forced to participate in protest
rallies. In addition to this disturbed condition,
monsoon played havoc in the entire project area and
both Bankura and Purulia districts were declared
drought affected. Due to the failed monsoon no
cultivation took place and extreme water crisis
prevailed. All these considerably affected CWDS’
routine and time bound activities. Plantation
activities for the orchard project could not be
undertaken in time, tasar seed could not be
collected and distributed as per schedule, the
transport of tasar cocoons became difficult,
meetings could not be held in villages and in
samitis, and survey and documentation activities
suffered. CWDS and Nari Bikash Sangha(NBS) however
managed to attend to the following activities:
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The usual productive and employment generating
activity like Tasar culture was undertaken as
far as possible in timely manner. Thus,
maintenance of Tasar host plants by way of
timely pruning/ pollarding, application of
manure and pesticide and cleaning of
undergrowths for the 2010-11 crop cycles was
carried out by the samitis owning Tasar
plantations. Tasar grainage operation for seed
production began in time but such units in
acutely disturbed areas were kept closed. These
activities together created
22069 person
days of employment.
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In tri-voltine variety of tasar rearing, three
times during the year, the samitis brushed 32750
disease-free-layings (dfl), produced 1336296
cocoons, generated 20209 person days of
employment and earned Rs.1146455.00. In the bi-voltine
variety of rearing, two times during the year,
two samiti brushed 1800 dfl, produced 66560
cocoons worth Rs.95241.00 and generated 1161
person days of employment.
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In grainage operations for tasar seed
production, six units processed 149530 seed
cocoons, produced 58750 dfl worth Rs.235000.00
and generated 619 person days of employment.
Through post- cocoon activity, one samiti
processed 20500 pierced/damaged cocoons and
produced 10 kg of spun yarn worth Rs.9500.00 in
80 person days.
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Two new grainage units were constructed mainly
with the financial support of the State
Sericulture department during the year.
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Support to samiti members in household
agriculture through the agriculture loan
programme of Nari Bikash Sangha (NBS) was at a
much reduced scale during the year on account
of the failed monsoon. Thus only an amount of
Rs.91743.00 was
advanced to 145 members. Support to
samiti members through the business loan program
of NBS during the year on the other hand was
relatively higher and an amount of Rs.
77000.00 was disbursed to 51 members of
the samitis.
-
Despite the disturbed conditions in the area
affecting the supply line, 14 SHGs reared
193407 poultry
birds in their broiler farms and earned Rs.1085062.00
by way of wages and incentives. Two SHGs
collected 30
quintal paddy and stored in their grain golas
to be loaned to members during times of
scarcity. Two SHGs purchased
24000 sal
leaves worth Rs.2400.00
and manufactured 11000 plates worth Rs.4400.00.
An amount of Rs.462000.00 was deposited by the
50 SHGs in their savings accounts during the
year.
-
Two
samitis raised nurseries of forest species and
supplied 12597 seedlings to the Bagicha project of NBS earning Rs
31493.00.One
samiti produced 12.5 quintals of vermin-compost worth Rs.7500.00 and sold to the
Bagicha project implemented by NBS.
-
Six
samitis harvested
21600 kgs of Babui grass worth Rs.129600.00
from their plantations and sold to local
traders.
-
NBS ran 12 creche units – four supported by CSWB,
4 by CWDS and 4 by NBS, and 9 village libraries-
all supported by NBS in samiti villages during
the year
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Acute problems were faced in implementing the
three Bagicha projects in three Blocks of
Bankura district, supported by NABARD and the
Backward Classes Welfare department, Govt. of
West Bengal, on account of the volatile
political situation and failed monsoon. Visits
to villages for program promotion and monitoring
were difficult on account of sudden bandhs,
road closures and political disturbance. In
order to keep the young mango and cashew plants
alive under drought like conditions, the project
staff had to undertake innovative water resource
development initiatives based on traditional and
modern knowledge systems.
As
reported in the previous year, during 2010-11, CWDS
and NBS were jointly engaged in implementing three
Bagicha projects simultaneously in Ranibandh, Raipur
and Khatra Blocks of Bankura. In view of the
prevailing political and climatic conditions it was
an uphill task to maintain the annual targets of the
three projects. Because of the highly publicized
disturbed situation of the area NBS also faced a
serious problem in getting and retaining adequate
number of project staff for the three Bagicha
projects. Whatever could be achieved so far and
during the year was solely due to the untring
efforts of the CWDS and NBS, support received from
men and women of the area, and on account of years
of carefully nurtured credibility of CWDS-NBS
combine.
CWDS and NBS gratefully acknowledge the support
received from the Central Silk Board by way of
supply of certified tasar seeds, training in
grainage operations, maintenance of Tasar host
plants and on-field technical assistance during the
time of grainage operation and rearing cycles.
Similarly, CWDS and NBS are deeply grateful to State
Sericulture Department in respect of financial
support for two grainage units, material support by
way of fertilizer for tasar host trees and
equipments for grainages, tasar crop insurance,
training support for tasar spinning and reeling, for
initiating schemes like medical insurance and widow
pension for women tasar rearers.
Lastly, routine organizational activities like
holding of elections in samitis and NBS, were
deferred on the advice of NBS general body in view
of the troubled situation in the region and will
hopefully be held during the second quarter of
2011-12.
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