WUNRN
India-North Chandrapura - Successful Women's Activism for Clean,
Safe Water
Women's Feature Service
India - New Delhi
India-North
Chandrapura - Successful Women's Activism for Clean, Safe Water
By Soma Mitra
Chandrapura (Women's Feature Service) - Even until two years ago, in the
village of North Chandrapura, Tripura (a state that adjoins Bangladesh and
Myanmar), clean water was a luxury and water-borne diseases a way of life. This
was, of course, until a group of women in this village - which lies about 75
kilometres from Agartala, Tripura's state capital - got together and launched
the 'Jal Ano' (Bring Water) movement a few years ago.
Milan Das Sarkar, 47, mother of two, who took active part in the Bring Water
movement, shudders to even recall the severe water problems of a few years
earlier and the ill-health they had to battle. "It was a nightmare. Our
children suffered from all possible water borne diseases like diarrhoea,
cholera and what not?" she remarks. She recalls, "Every year
politicians used to come before the polls and promise us drinking water. They
forgot about it as soon as the elections were over, but we never gave up and
continued our fight."
The seeds of the water movement, which changed the lives of the villagers
forever, were sown by a motivated group 10 to 15 women, who decided to take
matters into their own hands instead of waiting for the administration to do
what it was supposed to do.
Milan, who was with the movement from the day it began in 2002, takes a trip
down memory lane. "It was a scorching summer day and we had the first
meeting in my courtyard. Even before we chalked out a plan of action to tackle
the problems, we resolved that we would not give up on our dream under any
circumstance. As long as there was no water in our taps we were going to fight.
In the first meeting itself we decided that we would go from door to door and
campaign for our cause to garner support and motivate like minded people to
join in." Astonishingly, even though most of the initial members of the
movement were school dropouts, they started their work with an agenda and sense
of purpose.
In North Chandrapura it is difficult to find even a single woman who has not
been associated with the movement in some way or another - from the initial 15
members, today the number has grown to 500. Before approaching the state
government for help, the women did a survey of the village asking people what
they felt about the water problem and how it could be tackled. They also
organised group meetings at different places in the village so that everyone
got the opportunity to learn about the initiative. Interestingly, the movement
was peaceful at all levels and never created any law and order problems. After
the first phase of advocacy, they worked on a charter of demands and then
submitted it to all the government bodies - starting from local panchayat
(village council) to the District Magistrate.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the women, the first water tank in the
village was installed in 2006. "Water flowing from our taps... it was a
sense of victory. We could not stop our tears," recalls Thirthabasi Nama.
Now every house receives clean drinking water through pipelines that have been
laid down by the government.
This has come as a big relief for everybody, but for the women most of all.
Their earlier life had revolved around completing their domestic chores, the
most laborious of which was the collection of drinking water, because there was
no source within a little more than a kilometre radius of the village. During
the dry season, the situation would become worse, since most of the
nearby wells would dry up. The villagers had no option, therefore, but to
drink the little water left in the deep mud-wells and ponds, which led in turn
to the spread of water borne diseases that resulted in frequent deaths,
especially among the children. "We had to walk more than one-and-a-half
miles to collect a pitcher of drinking water and it took around two hours if
not more. But in the lean season things got really dreadful," recalls
Laxmi Das, a mother of three children, next to whose house the water tank has
now been installed.
The supply of clean drinking water through pipelines has totally changed the
lifestyle of the women in North Chandrapura. Sonabati Nama, 50, smiles and
says, "Never in our dreams had we thought that we would get direct water
supply to our home. Half our day used to go in fetching water and one had to
wait in long queues after walking for miles to get clean water. Now our lives
have been transformed." Sarabala Lama, who earlier used to spent more than
five hours a day to collect water from a tubewell near National Highway 44,
puts it this way, "Now I have time to support my husband to earn some more
money for the family." Sarabala's two sons go to the village school.
Earlier she hardly had any time for the boys, now she can devote her evenings
to them.
Of course, it is under the government's Swajal Dhara programme that the village
got its overhead water tank and pipeline network. The Swajal Dhara Programme
supports community-managed schemes in villages for drinking water supply. Local
communities provide 10 per cent of the funds while the rest comes from
Government of India. In some places non-governmental organisations (NGOs) help
communities to plan the schemes which are technically controlled by the Public
Health Engineering Department (PHED).
The total cost of the RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) overhead water tank was
Rs 125,898 (US$1=Rs 47.1), with the expenditure to lay the pipeline being
extra. "Today, there are arrangements for door-to-door water supply
through pipes for which each consumer pays Rs 30 every month. Moreover, there
is one pump operator who has to fill up the tank twice daily. A monthly salary
of Rs 300 is paid to the operator," informs Anil Chakraborty, the village
Pradhan (head).
Other than ensuring water supply to every home, the panchayat has also set up
13 hydrants, 14 tube wells and four sanitary wells, among others in the
village. "All this has helped North Chandrapur immeasurably. It has helped
a population of 2025 people to achieve 100 per cent success in manufacturing
health supportive lavatories and better its literary levels. Today there are no
drop out cases here," Chakraborty adds.
Incidentally, the Bring Water movement has also ensured that there is a minimal
wastage of water. The villagers know that they have pay for every drop used, so
they are careful. In fact, they are even recycling the water utilised for
washing and bathing to irrigate their kitchen gardens.
The 153 families of North Chandrapur may now realise this adequately, but they
have a small group of dedicated women to thank for their new-found sense of
well-being.
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