a newsletter of nss iit kharagpurnss – iit kharagpur for more information visit:...
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Anuraag
a newsletter of NSS – IIT Kharagpur
In this issue:
Highlights
Photo feature: Regular NSS
activities
Photo feature: Annual Camp
activities
Reaching the Unreached – an
article by Mr Anand Kapoor
Highlights Volunteers of units 12 and 15 of NSS – IIT Kharagpur have been
working for more than a year to facilitate issuance of SC/ST
certificates to residents of Rangametia and Sholadahar villages.
During a survey they realized many at these villages did not have
their SC/ST certificates – a basic necessity for receiving a number of
governmental assistance. They then sensitized the villagers about
the usefulness of such certificates, assembled the documentary
evidence needed for the issuance of the certificates, organized camps
to bring the villagers in direct contact with the government officials
and finished the application process by making online filing on
behalf of the residents. Of about 150 filings from Sholadahar 130
were found to be in order and of 50 from Rangametia 20 were
accepted. Distribution of the first instalment of 50 certificates took
place on the occasion of NSS day celebration on October 5, 2013.
Such activities are being rolled out at other villages where NSS – IIT
Kharagpur are active over the past several years.
About 500 volunteers, mainly first year undergraduate students of
IIT Kharagpur, participated in the NSS – IIT Kharagpur Annual
Camp at Ayma, Nayapara and Arambati areas at the outskirts of
Kharagpur between November 27 and December 3, 2013. These
areas are flanked by major railway tracks and marshalling yards. As
a result, access into and out of these low income neighbourhoods is
poor. NSS volunteers repaired about 5-km of roads in these areas
during the camp. Other camp activities included a training program
on life-saving first-aid procedures such as CPR, a medical camp
where 220 residents of Ayma and Porapara were treated, and
distribution of clothes collected by the volunteers from IIT campus
to about 300 residents of Ayma and Nayapara. An anonymous
donation of medicines worth Rs. 30,000.00 for the medical camp
patients needs a special mention in this regard. These activities are
shared through a photo feature in this newsletter.
In addition, our NSS volunteers continue to teach underprivileged
children, plant saplings, conduct damage survey, make water quality
assessment, campaign to raise social awareness, help repair damaged
village hutments and facilities, and conduct medical and blood
donation camps.
This newsletter also shares the work of Mr Anand Kapoor, (Civil,
1974, LLR) and his wife Kusum Karnik amongst the tribal peoples
of Maharashtra, which our volunteers and well wishers might find
inspiring.
January 26, 2014
Photo feature
Regular activities
Photo feature
Annual Camp activities
More than 1000 NSS
volunteers from IIT Kharagpur
spends three hours every week
teaching children, planting
saplings, surveying damaged
hutments, assessing water
quality, and campaigning to
raise social awareness, helping
repair damaged hutments, and
conducting medical and blood
donation camps at 20 villages
and slums around IIT Campus.
This photo feature illustrates a
few of these activities.
More than 500 NSS volunteers
of IIT Kharagpur participated in
an annual camp at Ayma,
Nayapara and Arambati areas at
the outskirts of Kharagpur
between November 27 and
December 3, 2013. They
participated in road repair,
garbage cleaning, and social
awareness campaigns through a
rally and street plays in these
low income neighbourhoods.
They also organized a program
on first aid training for the locals
aided by Dr D Gupta or BC Roy
Technology Hospital, a medical
camp, distributed clothes they
collected earlier from IIT
Campus and medicines donated
by an anonymous donor to the
locals.
Construction of Dimbhe dam in a remote, hilly rainforest of Pune
district led to the inundation of 11 villages displacing the
inhabitants belonging to the Koli Mahadeo, Thakar, and Katkari
tribes. Over the past 34 years I and my wife Kusum Karnik are
working amongst these people through a voluntary organization,
“Shashwat.” The reservoir has since been stocked with fish.
Fishing leases, boats and nets have been arranged for the locals.
The community uses state-of-the-art techniques of cage and pen
culture taking care of sustainability by adopting net-size regulations
and strictly-observed closed seasons and banning dynamite use.
Fish size and abundance have increased, as have local incomes, and
in 2013 the fish cooperative has come in to profit. From a relatively
meagre 3670 kg of catch in 2007 of carp with average size 700 gm
the production went to 27000 kg in 2013 with average size of 7 to 9
kg. Compared to only 3 manual fishing boats operating in 2003,
148 manual fishing boats operated at present.
Shashswat catalyzed creation of new paddy terraces on steep hill
slopes above water line within the catchment area. The
organization also supports local farmers obtain official ownership
documents. Through lobbying and partnership with the local
government, the organization has arranged pumps and pipelines for
irrigating cultivatable lands that emerge when the reservoir water
level goes down. Grain harvests have improved substantially,
providing food security for the economically marginalized
population and stoppage of seasonal migration away from the
villages. Shashwat is helping the inhabitants conserve nearby
forests, document conservation practices, and promoting wildlife
sanctuary management in forest lands. Shashwat setup twelve pre-
primary schools, a residential primary school for tribal school
dropouts, a tribal girl’s hostel, which they hope will become a tribal
sports academy in future and a health care program that focuses
mainly on women and children.
I am a visiting faculty at Centre for Technological Alternatives
for Rural Areas (CTARA), IIT Bombay. For last 8 years, two
CTARA M. Tech students spend 10 weeks every year in the tribal
villages of Shashwat project area to learn the tribal way of life, and
the opportunities and challenges of the tribes. The students try to
return the favour by making project reports on small development
opportunities, e.g., diversion of hill streams for irrigation for
subsequent implementation by Shashwat.
Shashwat was awarded the global UNDP Equator Prize and the
Special Recognition Award for Freshwater Resource Management,
by the Equator Initiative of the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) at the RIO+20 United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development at Rio de Janiero, Brazil in June 2012.
Kusum and I welcome IIT KGP-ians to visit us and participate in
our efforts at reducing the poverty of the tribes on the margins of
the Dimbhe reservoir by helping them develop sustainable
initiatives to live on the natural resources of the area.
Reaching the Unreached Anand Kapoor (IIT KGP 1974 Civil, LLR)
NSS – IIT Kharagpur for more information visit: nssiitkgp.blogspot.com
Anuraag
Meet the new members of the NSS Team
Professor Paramita Bhattacharya (CE) joined the
NSS team in September 2013. She has been
over as the Program Officer of Unit 11 serving
the Talbagicha area. Professor Brundavanam
Maruthi Manoj (Physics and Meteorology) has
also joined the NSS team in January 2014 to
take charge of Unit 12 that serves Rangametia
village. He replaces Professor Ramkrishna Sen
(Biotechnology), who is on sabbatical during
Spring 2013-2014. The NSS team want to thank
Professor Ritwik Layek (ECE), who was leading
Unit 11 as Program Officer before Paramita
took over.
NSS Officers, IIT Kharagpur
Name (Function, Unit) Telephone Email
Vikranth Racherla (PO, 1) 3222 282900 [email protected]
Rajeev Kumar Rawat (PO, 2) 3222 281864 [email protected]
Dibakar Dhara (PO, 3) 3222 282326 [email protected]
Ahin Nag (PO, 4) 3222 281900 [email protected]
Dilip Kumar Swain (PO, 5) 3222 283170 [email protected]
Manab Kumar Das (PO, 6) 3222-282924 [email protected]
Mantu Prasad Rajak (PO, 7) 3222 281800 [email protected]
Mintu Halder (PO, 8) 3222 283314 [email protected]
Prosanta Guha (PO, 9) 3222 283124 [email protected]
ND Pradeep Singh (PO, 10) 3222 282324 [email protected]
Paramita Bhattacharya (PO, 11) 3222 282472 [email protected]
Ramkrishna Sen (On leave) 3222 283752 [email protected]
B Maruthi Manoj (PO, 12) 3222 283752 [email protected]
Arghya Deb (PO, 13) 3222 283412 [email protected]
Sudip Misra (PO, 14) 3222 282338 [email protected]
Venimadhav Adyam (PO, 15) 3222 282340 [email protected]
Abraham George (PO, Admin) 3222 283236 [email protected]
Debasis Roy (PC, NSS) 3222 283456 [email protected]
January 26, 2013