kashig project - village kashig: a socio-economic survey

Village Kashig: A socio –economic survey

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. SHER SINGH PARMAR

(M.A I) Student has successfully completed the village survey and has submitted the report

to the University of Pune for the partial fulfillment of the course Gb. 205 (A) for Semester

II M.A. The work incorporated in the village survey “VILLAGE KASHIG : A SOCIO –

ECONOMIC SURVEY” is original and this work is accomplished under our guidance

and supervision.

GUIDE - Head,

Mrs. Sarmila Choudhuri , Department of Geography

Department of Geography University of Pune,

Dr.D.Y.Patil Arts,Commerce & Ganeshkhind,

Science College, Pimpri, Pune 411007.

Pune 411018.


DATE OF SURVEY: 17 / 3/2002.

COPYRIGHT© : The Head ,

The Department of Geography,

University of Pune,(Ganeshkhind),

Pune 411007.

NO PART OF THIS SURVEY REPORT SHALL BE

REPRODUCED/RESTORED/RETRIEVED WHETHER MANUALLY OR

ELECTRONICALLY IN WHATSOEVER FORM IN ANY LANGUAGE

BY ANYONE WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE

HEAD, THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, UNIVERSITY OF

PUNE, GANESHKHIND, PUNE-411007, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA.

Photos in the present text were taken by THE AUTHORS


Acknowledgement

Our sincere thanks to the Department of Geography, Dr. D.Y.Patil

ARTS, COMMERCE & SCIENCE COLLEGE (University of Pune),Pimpri,

Pune for providing us with the means of conducting the village survey. A

more heartfelt obligation to Mr. Jayprakash Jadhav and Mrs. Sarmila

Chowdhuri for their valuable guidance, support and encouragement through

out the period of our efforts. We are thankful to villagers of Kashig who

have co-operated with us while collecting the information about the

villagers.

SHER SINGH PARMAR

GHENAND PANDURANG

GODSE UMESH

RAMESH


INDEX

Chapter No. Topic Page No.

1 Introduction 13

2 The village:Geographical personality 19

3 Settlement Morphology 27

4 Cultural characteristics 39

5 Demographic Characteristics 45

6 Agriculture 49

7 Occupational Structure 55

8 Social Amenities 61

9 Conclusion 67


LIST OF TABLES Sr. No. Table No. Title Page No.

1 3.1 Wall Material 32

2 3.2 House Type 33

3 3.3 Roof Material 34

4 3.4 Use of Material 35

5 5.1 Age and Sex Ratio 47

6 5.2 Age Structure 48

7 6.1 Procedure for the cultivation of rice 51

8 6.2 Area /size land Holding 52

9 6.3 Expenditure and profit analysis for rice 54

10 7.1 Occupational Structure(2002) 57

11 7.2 Occupational Structure(1991) 59

12 8.1 Status Of Education 63


LIST OF MAPS / FIGURES / PHOTOS Sr. No. Title Page No.

1 Location of Kashig Village 21

2 Contour Map of Village 24/81

3 Cross Profile Drawing 25

4 Settlement Map of Kashig Village 29/83

5 Graph of Houses 33

6 Graph of roofs 34

7 Uses of Fuel 35

8 Agriculture Land Use 36/85

9 forestation 37/87

10 General Landuse 38/89

11 Area/Size of Land Holding 53

12 Graph of Occupation 58

12 Status of Education 64

13 Old world charm- Kashig 71


Introduction

In plain words one defines Geography as “the study of earth”. But ,what

Could that mean? In the ‘study of earth’, a Geographer has to look into the

“Physical” as well as “Human” aspects of the earth. “Physical” because unless that is

done so one can not really understand the place of study and “Human” more so

because after all the study is meant for human beings.

The uniqueness of Geography is that it combines a large number of subjects in

its area of command. Hence ,it is possible to define every aspect of the description of a

place. Also, Geography puts a greater emphasis on the influence of human beings over

their surroundings and vice-versa. So , human beings become the center of study in

many cases of study.

Geography always has tried to find out the true nature of a region. So ,many a

time one finds that the ‘Regional Geography’ is accorded a very high degree of

importance in the study of Geography. One has to understand that in Geography , we

emphasize on the description of a place or region , . So , many a time , it is often said

that a Geographer is better able to describe a region than any one else.

Importance of the Field work in Geography

Fieldwork is highly important in Geography. As we have seen in the definition

Geography is mainly a science, which describes the earth. Now in order to describe the

earth, one has to move about and know for oneself the details of the area of study.

Thus, it follows inevitably that Geography cannot be a classroom science , but needs a

vast deal of fieldwork to support and increase our knowledge of the subject.

There is a need of fieldwork in Geography because as we have earlier said we

attempt to describe a region in Geography. When we have to describe the region it

follows then we have to visit the region and see the area and make a survey(photo


number 33). Surveying is another important part in the study of Geography because it

includes the actual part of field study.

To quote L.S.BHAT & ASLAM MAHMOOD (FIELDWORK &

LABORATORY TECHNIQUES IN GEOGRAPHY),``….fieldwork provides

us an opportunity to observe, to plot on a map and to acquaint the people about the

distribution of various phenomena and to understand the causal relationship among

them.”

So , we have to do a vast deal of fieldwork when we deal with Geography.

Aims of a village survey Village survey is a type of fieldwork which the Post-Graduate scholars have

to perform as part of their curriculum.

In a village survey , more emphasis is put on the socio-economic study of the village.

There are mainly two reasons for including such a study in the syllabus of the

students:

1. The students of Geography should be well versed with all forms of fieldwork and

should have an idea as to how it is conducted .

2. To help students increase knowledge of their surroundings by allowing them to mix

with their environment.

The present survey programme has successfully completed both the objectives

as mentioned above . The exposure to the idea of fieldwork was indeed fruitful as it

made us realize what it calls for to be a Geographer. Also, we mingled with the

people of the rural area of Pune district and regret to say the life we saw in the

village is hardly related to life we lead in the city.


RAISON D’ ETRE for Selection of the village For the present survey , the village Kashig in Mulshi Tahsil of District Pune was

selected by our group. The main reason was its accessibility from Pune. It is within a

distance of 50 kms from Pune. It is located at the foot of Fort Tikona and the hill of

Mandovi. The Hudshi dam is situated quite near the village boundaries , but the

villagers were not allowed to lift water from the dam until recently. Thus, the village

has to face a severe water problem in the months following the monsoons.

Also, the village has other economic problems like a lack of funds for any new

activity, a lack of proper implementation of Government schemes ,etc.

This site provides us an ideal tableau for our study ,because we could read the

profile of the village’s development from the period of its known history till today. We

have made an attempt to predict about its future prospects , but not with authority,

also . Village officers (revenue) were busy. Hence, we had depend on other source

such as N G O ,etc.

Objectives of the study In keeping with the guidelines proposed by the U.N.O. :C.H.B.P.(1977), the

objective of our study can be summarized as understanding and evaluation of the

following prominent traits of the personality of village Kashig:

(1) The geographical facet and the present site and situation in the context with

previous ones.

(2) Land and agriculture .

(3) Housing and settlement.

(4) Public utilities.

(5) Community facilities.

(6) Social situation.

(7) Economic situation.

(8) Socio-religious scene.

(9)Development plans.


The Physical setting of the village The village Kashig (photo numbers 1,2,3) is located on the southern slopes of

the fort Tikona( photo numbers 4,5). The hill Mondoi borders the village on eastern

side. Over the southern edge , lies the lake Hudshi(photo number 6 ). Many of the

wadis of the village are particularly located on the break points over hill slopes. It

reminds one of the hill villages in Himachal pradesh and other Himalayan regions.

The village is located at about 50 kms from Pune. The nearest large settlement

is Paud in southern direction and kale colony on the Mumbai-Pune Highway.

It can be reached by road from Pune via Kamshet . One may travel by rail from

Pune to Kamshet and further by road , too.There is presently a shuttle bus service

between Kamshet and Kale colony(Pavana nagar). Also, one may travel by lacally

available conveyance like jeeps, etc.Presently, any one coming from Pune has first to

get down at Kamshet and then take a bus or other local coveyance upto Pavana

nagar.Again, one has to change conveyance at Pavana nagar for further onward

journey till Javan trijunction where roads from Lonavala ,Paud and Shilim meet.Here,

on the left handside, there is a big arc type entrance gate announcing the name of the

local Khandoba temple.Following the kuccha track down from this magnificent

entrance gate for roughly a kilometre , one may reach the village Kashig.One has to

park one’s vehicle in the Khandobe temple area, because the steep slope further down

is non motorable.On the way down , one may have a glimpse of the Khandoba

temple.The village is easily approachable by vehicles from the southern side .Here,

one may get down on the Lonavala-Paud road and travel on foot to different wadis

constituting the village.Else, one may use a two wheeler to reach by this route.

The village is reachable by helicopter , too, because the relatively level

topography of agricultural field makes an ideal landing ground .However , there is

presently no air services for reasons of no demand for it.

Climate

Kashig lies on the leeward side of the Western Ghats and falls in the hot tropical belt.

It has hot summers with monsoons in the late summer months. The winters are dry and


cool. According to Koppen classification , the area falls under “Aw” type of climate

,i.e.,hot with dry winters.

The area receives around 70 to 80 cms of rainfall annually in sharp contrast to

600 cm. annual rainfall received by locations in the western ghats such as

mahabaleshwar.

Drainage pattern

The Kashig village is located near Pavna dam and the village slope area is

medium in the Kashig gathon. Lower order streams have steep slope. The Kashig

village unirrigated area is 26.19% . The kashig village has 67.36% area under forest

cover.However, the surrounding hills display a barren look devoid of a rich vegetative

cover.

Soil The soil in the area is mostly brown(photo numbers 7,8,9). The part where the

land is very near the lake, the soil shows darker shades, but it generally varies from

shades of light(photo number 7 ) to dark brown(photo number9) . Detailed soil survey

was not carried out. So, the exact predictions of chemical composition of local soil is

not possible. But, in general ,it can be said that the humus content of the soil is very

low.

Flora & Fauna

General vegetation observed in the area is predominantly thorny shrub(photo

numbers 10,6). On the same slopes ,the afforestation and reforestation programmes

have been undertaken. Therefore ,Nilgiri, Subabhul and a few mango trees are seen.

On many land pieces , nothing but grass grows in monsoon(photo number 9 ) and it is

harvested as cattle feed in winter.


A number of afforestation programmes were under taken. The forest land area is

67.36%.We observed existence of a few birds like sparrows, etc.


INDEX

SETTLEMENT

WELL

SHOP S

FLOOR MILL .

WATER SUPPLY TEMPLE

PUCKKA ROAD __________________

__________________

KUCHHA ROAD -------------------------

-------------------------

TIKONA FORT

TULJABHAVANI TEMPLE TM

TOILET T

DUTTA TEMPLE DM

PRIMARY SCHOOL PS

BHAIRAVNATH TEMPLE BM

HIGH SCHOOL HS

SAMAJ MANDIR SM

MHASOBA MANDIR MM

KHANDOBA MANDIR KM

TANK TANK


Settlement morphology

The term “settlement morphology” includes in its ambit the arrangement of dwellings in

a settlement ,their nature and total numbers.

SETTLEMENT TYPE &PATTERN: The settlement type seems to be a sparse one, since different wadis are

scattered over a large geographical area.However,we find it to be a dispersed/clustered

type by applying the common formula of the DEGREE OF DISPERSION as follows:

C = A x K

B OR NUMBER OF HOUSES/NUMBER OF SETTLEMENT x .25

C = 72/6 x .25 = 3.00

The settlement pattern varies from place to place.For example,

Shindewadi has a triangular settlement pattern , as houses are located within the area

enclosed by two streets meeting in a triangular fashion.

In Kashig , there are 72 houses and total population is 798. The 6 settlements in

Kashig are divided into main Gaothan and wadis scattered about it in different

directions. The Gaothan is situated mainly on level land and rocky surface. The

satellite settlements are Shindewadi, Shelkewadi, Bhimnagar, Tidkewadi and

Temgharwadi. As the population of main Gaothan goes on increasing, the farther off

lands are brought under plough. Thus ,a need to settle near the land arises to reduce

the commuting distance. This gives rise to different Wadis and Vastis.

Housing The houses in nearly all settlements are made up of mud(photo numbers 11,12)

and have metal sheets as roof(photo number 13)These are generally built from locally


available building material. Occasionally ,we find brick houses(photo numbers 14, 32)

,but roof remains almost similar,i.e.,sloping which helps in proper drainage of rain

water. Some houses have thatched roofing. Nearly all the houses have mud-flooring

spread with cow dung.

Majority of the houses have a typical plan. On entrance ,through a narrow

door, first, we see a cattle shed. Next ,on a raised plinth is the sitting place. Behind

that, lay the closed rooms which may be divided into kitchen, bedrooms, etc according

to use.

Table No 3.1 WALL MATERIAL

========================== Type of house

Number Percentage

BRICK + MUD

60

83.33

CEMENT + MUD

9 12.50

OTHER

3 4.17

TOTAL

72 100.00

Source :- (Data collected during field work done in march 2002.)


(Fig. No.1)

Materials used for construction of the house tell us about economic status of

family. In the village , 83.33% house are made up of brick ,4.16% of cement , 12.5% of

other material . Since more percentage of houses are made up of brick and cement ,

this shows that village Kashig is relatively social – economically developed.

Table No 3.2 HOUSE TYPE

TYPE OF HOUSE

NO. OF PEOPLE

OWN 65 RENTED

7

Source : -(Data collected during field work done in march 2002.)

House is one of the basic necessities of human beings. It provides shelter to each and every individual. Housing types tells us about cultural and social aspects of the settlers, also.

TYPES OF HOUSES

83%

13% 4%

MUDBRI CKCEMENT


Table No 3.3 ROOF MATERIAL ========================= Types of roof

Number Percentage

Metal Sheets 65 90.27 Thatched 3 4.17 Tiled 4 5.56 Grand Total 72 100.00

Source:- (Data collected during field work done in march 2002.)

( Fig No.2) Most of the houses in village Kashig have roofs made up of metal sheets , i.e , 90.27%.The 4.17 % of the houses have roofs made up of Thatch, and 5.56% of tiles.

TYPES OF ROOFS

90%

6% 4%

METAL SHEETSTHATCHEDTI LED


Table No 3.4 USE OF FUEL USE OF FUEL NUMBER % OF PEOPLE USED Wood 59 49.16 Biogases 58 48.33 Kerosene 2 1.66 Others 1 0.83 Total 120 100.00


(FiG. No. 3)

Kashig is a rural village. In Kashig, 49.16% houses are using firewood as a fuel. There are 48.33% houses using the biogas as a fuel, 1.66% house Kerosene, 0.83 houses other fuels.In fact, we noticed mounds of ready to use sun baked cow/cattle dung cakes in the corners of a few agricultural fields.

USES OF FUEL

49.16 48.33

1.66 0.83 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Wood Biogases kerosene Others


CULTUARAL CHARACTERASICS

Language Marathi language in its rural dialect is the mother tongue of all surveyed

families.However, we noticed that some of the village youth are fluent in English

language, too!In fact, we noticed such a youth as have command over spoken English

preside over a meeting of the villagers.

Culture: GENERAL: As other small villages of Maharashtra, Kashig too shows customs and cultures

peculiar to the village. The village Gaothan has two temples. In Shindewadi, Shelkewadi

& Tidkewadi ,there is a temple of Lord Shiva each. Generally, the forms of Lord Shiva

are worshiped as the Gram-Daivata. There was not a single temple to be found in the

Bhimnagar which is a new name for Harijan Vasti. This is because the people have been

baptized into the Neo-Buddhist fold and they do not worship Hindu deities. There are

various Mandals such as Bhajani Mandals, Tarun Mandals (youth groups), Mahila

Mandals (Women’s group), and lazim Mandals, folk dance groups. In the main village ,

there is a temple dedicated to Lord Khandoba recently renovated by the efforts of the

villagers(photo numbers 15,16).It contains inter alia deities like Lord Ganapat(photo

numbers 17, 18)i.The place is pleasantly clean and tranquil.

Some of the agricultural fields contain in their corners miniature l to relatively

very small temples dedicated to various local deities and spirits of ancestors, most

probably as a means to please heavenly spirits to protect their crops(photo numbers 27 &

31).The very presence of these little agricultural temples reflect the predominance of

agriculture in the rural life of the village.

The festivals like ‘Ganpati’ and ‘Devi Navratra’ are celebrated in unison in the

village. In the month of Margasheersh , the festival of Khandoba is celebrated from

‘Pratipada’ to ‘Champa Shashti’.


We found villagers full of traditional hospitality and simplicity as reflected in their warm

gestures towards strangers like us.In fact, we were offered by simple compassionate

farmers free of cost a few kg. Of NACHANI .We, of course, refused politely,as we did not

want to take away their hard earned grains just for nothing.It was really pleasantly

surprising to us , because we know by our daily experience that in a city like Pune people

have become so commercial that they won’t offer to a stranger even a cup of tea!

However, village elders complained that their younger ones were loosing contact with

the rural virtues under modern influences, like they have turned to wheat instead of bread

made from more sumptuous and healthy NACHANI .We were told by villagers that bread

made from Nachani is excellent for mental peace and health!

POLITICAL:

Villagers are politically quite active. BJP, NCP,AINC,& SHIV SENA are the

main political influences in the village.Political and other decisions are taken by group

meetings and consent.

Status / empowerment of women The village is typically representative of male dominated patriarchal society of

India(photo number 11).Women are merely onlookers in any group decisions in the

village(photo number 19).Nearly, all major decisions in the village are taken by

males(photo number 11). It is frequently seen that the women do most of the work and

still get ill-treated by her husband.

The daughters are considered a liability and the number of school dropouts is

higher amongst girls than boys. Also , we witnessed large families raring for son as

compared to a female child. About personal discrimination , it is not advisable to

comment without certain proofs . We could not come to know the exact age of marriage

of girls .Either the villagers are not aware or they choose to disobey the laws, but more

often than not the girls are married in their sixteenth or seventeenth years. Even boys


marry at an early age so as to bring in an additional pair of hands to do labour in the

grim struggle for existence.


DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERASICS ====================================

Table No. 5.1 : AGE AND SEX RATIO

Age

groups(years)

Male Male % Female Female %

0 - 4 17 7.80 14 8.09

5 – 19 77 35.32 50 28.90

20 – 34 43 19.72 38 21.97

35 – 49 42 19.27 37 21.39

50 – 64 21 9.63 25 14.45

65 – above 18 8.26 9 5.20

Total 218 100.00 173 100.00


Sex ratio is the ratio between male and female population. The population of

kashig is 798. In kashig , males outnumber females. This shows the male dominating

factor in kashig.


Table No .5.2 AGE STRUCTURE AGE GROUP (years ) NO. OF PERSON

0 – 5 39

5 – 10 55

15 – 30 106

30 – 60 120

Above – 60 36


Population distribution in village Kashing is uneven. Number of males is more

than females in the 0 to 5 year age group . This may be due to a lack of medical

facilities, poor socio economic status of women in the society , etc.


Agriculture The agricultural practices in the area are mostly rain fed in nature. The means of

irrigation is water from the Pavana dam, which was not allowed to be lifted till recently

and even then it is too costly a practice to be adopted by the villagers. The best they can

do is to draw water from wells, but these also are not available in this region. So , the

best they can do is to cultivate their lands in the period of rains.Agricultural fields are

generally rectangular in shape and separated from each otherby raised earth/mud

boundaries(photo numbers 20,21).

The principal crop in this region is rice. It is the staple food of the people of this

region , also. It is grown as the Kharif crope, i.e., rainy crop.Other crops grown in

varying degrees are: Nachani and Wheat .

Generally the following pattern of cropping is followed for the rice crop in

this area:

Table No 6.1 Procedure for the cultivation of Rice.

=====================================

Months Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

March Nursery plot

April Ploughing

May Ploughing Furrowing Ploughing

June Sowing in Nursery

July 6 inch saplings Soft ploughing Plant saplings

August Wedding

September Wedding

October

November Cutting Drying

December Threshing Storing


In the months of December and January , the work of threshing, winnowing and

storing for use or selling in the market takes place. Generally, the paddy is sold and not

the rice.

Rice is the main crop and most of the farmers cultivate it in their fields. So ,there

is very less or no fallow land at all in the monsoon season. On the other hand , a lot of

land is left fallow in the winter or Rabi season. Only the lands, which are more or less

level and have a good water holding capacity, are cultivated in this season. Crops such

as Beans , wheat , nachani, Gram or Jowar are grown optionally in land holdings.

The villagers mostly own the land they cultivate , but the size of these land

holdings is very small and uneconomical to cultivate . They generally cultivate their own

land and very little or almost no land is given out for share cropping and tending.

Table No. 6.2 area / size of land holdings Area of land( acre ) Number of land holders Percentage

0 4 5.56

0.1 – 2.0 41 56.94

2.1 – 4.0 20 27.78

4.1 – 6.0 3 4.16

6.1 and above 4 5.56

Total 72 100



6%

56%

28%

4% 6%

00. 1 – 2. 02. 1 – 4. 04. 1 – 6. 06. 1 and above

( Figure no. 4 )

In Kashig ,72 persons have their own land. The figure number ( 4 ) above gives complete

details as regards the size of land holdings and related aspects.


Table No 6.3

Expenditure and Profit Analysis for Rice(Cultivation per acre of land)

Particulars of

input

Rate(Rs.) Qty. Amt. Particulars of

output

Rate Qty Amt.

Seeding 8.00 30kg 240.00 Consumption of

paddy(4 persons)

800.00 4 q 3200

Burning the field 50.00 10 lab. 500.00 Selling paddy 800.00 5q 4000

Preparing the

field

50.00 5 lab. 250.00 Selling straw 15

/stack

600 900

Ploughing 150 4 pl. 600.00

Wet ploughing 150 1 pl. 150.00

Sowing 50.00 7 lab. 750.00

Weeding 40.00 4 lab. 160.00

Urea 35.00 10 bags 350.00

Cattle dung 100 2.5cart 250.00

Cutting 50.00 8 lab. 400.00

Threshing 50.00 10 lab. 500.00

Total 4150.00 8100

Lab: Labours q: quintals

The above table illustrates the input and output analysis for rice cultivation per acre of

land under ideal conditions. The total input by a farmer amounts to Rs. 4150. While the

output obtained is almost twice the input, i.e. ,Rs.8100.However, the survey of the village

does not reflect such a situation and profits. This is because there are many other factors

controlling the cultivation and production of crop like fertility of the soil, uncertain rain

fall , and destruction of crops by animals, pests, insects ,etc. If we reduce the cost of the

home consumption and the cost of straw which forms the animal feed , the farmer is not

left with a substantial amount of profit. The farmer is barely able to make both the ends

meet.Hence, farming is not a profitable activity in this village and is being carried out

more as an occupation rather than a business


Occupational Structure The villagers of Kashig are mostly landowners and practice agriculture on their available piece of land(photo numbers 3,21,22,23,24,25,26,27). Mostly rice, Jowar, gram and beans are grown with an occasional patch given to wheat, nachni or wari. Some farmers grow only grass for cattlefeed.We noticed some villagers practicing poultry ,too. But, this is not a sufficient source of income for the villagers. So, many work as labourers in the fields of others. Some of the younger generation commute upto Kale colony or Kolvan, Paud , etc. to work as labourers ,luggage bearers or servents in shops and hotels. The table of occupation structure of the village is given below. It will give an idea of how the division of labour is made in the village. Table No 7.1 OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE Occupation Number Percentage

Agriculture 95 24.36 Working in jobs 36 9.23 Housewives 101 25.90 Students 108 27.69 Others 050 12.82 Total 390 100.00



( Fig. No.5 ) People engaged in various occupational gives us the idea about the general set up of the village, whether it is agriculture or not . In Kashig ,95 people , i.e., 24.36% people are engaged in agriculture and 50, i.e., 12.82% in other types of unspecified economic activities. Because agriculture is unable to provide livelihood to all the rural folk in Kashig, 9.23% villagers are working in jobs.

OCCUPATION

Agriculture

Working in jobs

Housewives

Students

OtherAgricultureWorking in jobsHousewivesStudentsOther


Table No 7.2 OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE

TYPE

MALE FEMALE TOTAL PERCENTAGE

Mining

0 0 0 0

Manufacturing & Services

2 0 2 0.38

Construction

1 0 1 0.1

Transportation

2 3 5 0.9

Other Services

5 1 6 1.14

Marginal Workers

2 142 144 27.37

Non Workers

200 168 368 69.96

Total

526 99.85

Source:- (Data collected census Handbook 1991.) Labour force engaged in various occupations gives us an idea about the general set up of the village, whether it is agricultural or trade and industry oriented . In Kashig , 0.3% people are engaged in manufacturing & services , 0.1% people in construction , 0.9% people in trade and transport. 144 people ,i.e., 27.37% workers work on daily or monthly wages & 368 people ,i.e. ,69.96% are non workers or the dependent populationpeople . So, it is quite clear the population of Kashig is unevenly distributed.


SOCIAL AMENTIES Drinking Water The village sometimes faces acute shortage of hygienically safe drinking water , despite the presence of motor pumps to lift and provide the same . FOR EXAMPLE, IT WAS FOUND DURING THE COURSE OF PRESENT SURVEY THAT VILLAGERS WERE SUSTAINING ON DIRTY WATER FROM OLD WATER TANK LOCATED IN THE AREA , SINCE THE WATER PUMPSET HAD GONE OUT OF ORDER 15 DAYS BACK!(photo number 30 ) Education The educational facility available in Kashig is a school up to standard 10th in the Gaothan. A separate building attached to the temple is provided in the village for the same purpose. For higher education , the villagers have to go to the farther off places like Kolvan, Paud, or Pune itself. The village has facilities of education up to 10th standard. Status of Education There always is a vast difference between the facilities of education available in the village and the number of people deriving benefit through them. Of the villagers , majority of the population above 35 years of age is illiterate. For females , this age comes down to 25 years. Below this age , we found that the villagers have had at least a primary schooling. In the age group of 15 to 20 years, we found that girls have generally given up education while the boys are still pursuing their higher education. But, in the age group of 5 to 15 years , most of the children are studying and we found parents encouraging them to study better.

Table No. 8.1 STATUS OF EDUCATION

Years of Schooling Male Female Below 1 71 108 1-4 62 22 5-10 72 42 11 and above 13 2 Total 218 174



0

20

4060

80

100

120

Bel ow 1 Pr i mar y Hi ghSchool

11 andabove

Mal eFemal e

(Fig No.6)

In all ,there are 61.30% of children in the 1st class, about 28.76% upto 4th class and about 39.04% in the 5th to 10th class and 5.13% in 11th & above in the entire village. There are 114 children in 5th to 10th classes. Among them 72 are boys and 42 girl students . The literacy rate for males is higher than females. Health The health and medical status of the villagers was not personally checked , but generally the complaints of epidemics in the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons prevail. Children were not found affected with apparent symptoms of malnutrition or negligence. The comment on actual diseases is avoided here because of a lack of authority. But , there appears to be a general lack of awareness as regards health and hygiene amongst the villagers, which may actually be leading to health problems.In fact, we noticed that the houses have on their back sides poor drainage systems which may lead to breeding of mosquitoes in ill maintained drains covered with filth,heaps of garbage and ash(photo numbers 28,29).


FAMILY PLANNING Although women don’t appear to be emancipated , yet consumerism seems to have ensured a general preference for family planning devices amongst rural folk . However , no statistics can readily be given. Medical Facilities The medical facilities available in the village are meagre and barely enough for population it supports. There is no resident doctor in the village. A visiting doctor visits once in three days and provides medical care. In case of emergency , the villagers rush the patients to Kale Colony which is at about half an hour’s journey from the village. There is a midwife in the village who helps women during maternity , but the cases of complication needing hospitalization have to be taken to Pune. Transport Kashig is connected to the settlements of Paud and Kale Colony(Pavana nagar) by a tar road. The road does not pass through the village , but through Javan which acts as the post office for Kashig , also . The buses of Mahatashtra State Transport Corporation connect Javan with Pune on one side and Pavana Nagar on the other. But,inside the village , we found that the roads are in a bad condition. There are mud roads, which are not perennially motorable. Some roads linking Wadis with the main Gaothan are not even walkable when the rains are at a peak. For moving farm products for trade purposes , the commonly used means of transport is the bullock cart(photo number 12). Of course, some even resort to bicycle and head loads for the same purpose. CONNECTIVITY Kashig may be said to be lying on a branch-network of transport lines , since a branch from the main Lonavala-Javan route artery connects


with it. It lies in a area with a poor connectivity ratio of 0.33 , if the connectivity is calculated by taking into consideration following places as vertices/nodes: kamshet, kale colony (pavana nagar),brahmanaali,gevande,javan and kashig. This ratio has been obtained by using following formula: Connectivity = 2 ( number of observed routes)/maximum number of possible routes.

Or

2(or)/(mXm-m) , where ‘m’ is the total number of place/nodes. Thus, 2(5)/6X6-6 OR 10/36-6 OR 10/30 OR 0.33 Communication There is a post office in Javan to which Kashig is connected. There are few telephone connections in the village , but there is no public booth which offers STD facility. But , television and radio are commonly seen in the village as mass communication media. Economic planning This is an important aspect regarding economic condition of the villagers. There is Nationalized bank in Javan along with a post office. The voluntary institute ‘Jeevan Sanstha’ encourages womenfolk to save their income in its Patpedh, also i. But , in the villagers there is lack of awareness and no appreciable turn for economy. They are not keen to save and provide for future. Neverthless , the efforts of ladies like Shantabai and Sugandhabai working for Jeevan Sanstha are seen to have made a change in the attitude of at least the women of the village.


CONCLUSION

Kashing village is a small village located near the pavna dam. It is a typical Maharashtrian village. It comes under Tahsil Mulshi of pune district. The main occupation of the village is agriculture though the Balutedars maintain their traditional occupation. The main purpose of such a location is to utilize all the fertile land for cultivation. The amenities in the village are electricity, road, bus, pipelines for drinking water and well for irrigation . Villager has to carry the patient either to the next village or to Pune for proper medication. This is very much troublesome and uneconomical to the poor villagers. As far as literacy is concerned , 30% of the total village is literate. The educational facilities available in the village are not upto the mark. The houses in the village are mainly made up of mud, stone, brick, & cement and roofs of tin, asbestors, tiles, cement sheet, etc. There are few houses constructed purely from cement. The village has relatively poor accessibility , but some private vehicles are present. It receives very heavy to moderate amount of rainfall during the monsoon months which make the accessibility rather more bad. This village is serviced by state transport buses from pune and also by private jeeps. The villagers have domesticated cows, bullocks, buffaloes, and goats .Very few farmers have modern equipments of plouging like tractor. But , most of them use bullock carts . Most important crop in the region is rice. In rabi season ,they grow wheat. In summer season ,they grow onion etc. PROSPECTS The village has ample natural wealth in terms of sunshine and wind which can very well be harnessed to generate non conventional energy by installing wind mills .Further , promotion of agro based industries can provide suitable employment to villagers , thereby reducing their centripetal tendency to migrate to other greener pastures like Pune in search of livelihood and better prospects.It has great potential for tourism related tertiary economic activities,since it lies in a area replete with


relatively greener surroundings compared to concrete jungles like Pune or Mumbai . In fact, we noticed a foreign lady enjoying herself at a local tea stall at the Javan Trijunction . Effective rural planning for Kashig entails retention of all good old rural virtues and introduction of benefits of modern civilization in terms of economic and settlement rationalization. In a nutshell ,Its safe to conclude that village kashig is socio – economically developed,though not to the extent desired.Much remains to be done. Finally, one may round off the instant survey report by paraphrasing the most famous lines of ROBERT FROST : “Contours of achievements are lovely ,dark and deep, But Kashig has a promise to keep, Miles to go and Miles to go Before the DREAMLAND KASHIG REACH!”

kashig project - village kashig: a socio-economic survey

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