MADHYA PRADESH DARSHAN III EDITION

RURAL IMMERSION 2011

Group43SHEOPUR

ANIRBANBOSE
VIJAYKHUMAN
SaugataHalder
NawangTashiSherpa
HarshalKumar
AndijMohonta
PhurbaGyaltsenSherpa
SumitKumarSaha
NareshKumarUnhale
AmitRanjan

1. BasicStatisticsaboutthedistrict(checkWikipedia,MPgovernment,districtwebsite)
SheopurislocatedinnorthMadhyaPradesh.Districthasatotalareaof6,66,081squarekilometersand
apopulation6,87,952.TotalMales3,61,681andtotalFemales3,26,267.Thedistrictisdividedinto3
SubDivisions, 5 Tehsils, 3 Blocks and 3 Nagar Palikas/Nagar Panchayats. Total number of Gram
Panchayats: 225. Major tourist attraction is Palpur (kuno) wildlife sanctuary. The wellknown Kaketa
reservoirislocatedinthisdistrict.
About 50 percent of the geographical area is available for cultivation. About 70.00 percent of the
cultivableareainthedistrictisirrigated.Canalisthemajorsourceofirrigation,whichaccountsfor42.94
percent of the total irrigated area respectively. Wheat is the most important food grain grown in the
district.Mustardisthemostimportantoilseedgrowninthedistrict.MajorkharifcropisBazara.
2. Whatdidwedodailybasisoractivitybasisrecordingofmajoractivities
Day1:Onthe27thNovemberweboardedthetrainforSawaiMadhaupurat6.20amfromIndorestation
andreachedthere2pmintheafternoon.Inthetrainwewereluckytomeetthehomeministerof
Rajasthan.Wehadagoodinteractionwithhim.TheNodalofficerhadalreadyarrangedtwotatasumo
carsforus.Wedrovefromtheretoourdestinationandfinallyreachedtherearound6.30pm.TheCEO
Janpat,theNodalOfficerMrPramodTomarandExecutiveOfficerIrrigationDepartmentcametomeet
andgreetus.TheyprovidedusaccommodationinTheCircuitHouse.
Day2:Earlyinthemorningthetwocarsarrivedinordertopickus.TheytookustoTheDistrictForest
Officer(DFO).HegaveusapresentationonKunoSanctuarywhichisstillinitsinfantrystageofits
development.IthadbeenselectedtorepopulateAsianBigCatsbutduetosomeGujaratGovernment
restrictionsonthesupplyofbigcatsitwasnotabletodevelopasitwasplanned.KunoSanctuary
DepartmentisstillgoingthroughanegotiationinordertobringAfricanBigCats.Inordertodevelopthe
sanctuarythetribalhadbeenrelocated.SoitwasahugetaskfortheGovernmenttoestablishthem.The
ForestDepartmentisactuallylookingforwardtodevelopKunoasatouristspotwhichwillbeofgreat
helpforthelocalpeopleandwillbeasourceofincome.FinallyweleftfortheSanctuaryandhadlaunch

thereintheguesthouse.Wewereluckytoseecrocodile,foxes,Indiandeerandafort.Thefortwasuse
bythekingasarecreationplaceintheheartoftheforestbesidetheKunoRiver.
Day3:AccordingtotheruleofMadhyaPradeshgovernment,TuesdayisallottedforJanSunwai,
wheretheCollectorwillbeinteractingwiththelocalpeopleinordertosolverespectiveproblems.We
wereinvitedtoattendtheJanSunwai.AftertheJanSunwaiconcluded,ameetingtookplaceinorderto
solvetheincreasingproblemsofdrugs.ManyrespectedofficerslikeSP,Civilsurgeon,CEOwerepresent
forthemeetinganditwasagreatexperiencewiththem.
Day4:Earlyinthemorning,theNodalofficertookustoKarahalblockabout100kmfromthedistrict
headquarter.ItisactuallyvillageunderconstructioninordertorelocatetheSahariatribewhowere
amongthose25villagesusedtoresideinKunoforest.Onthesamedayafterhavinglunchwewentto
Piprani,whichisavillagewheretheSahariatribepeoplehavebeensuccessfullyrelocated.The
governmenthasprovidedthemnecessaryfacilitiesPakkahouses,solarelectricity,handetc.Themain
problemforthesevillagersisthesourceofincomeasitwasveryfarfromthedistrictheadquarter.
Thesepeoplehavetodependsolelyontheforestfortheirlivelihood.Wemovedontothehouseofa
nearbyvillagerwhohadbeenbeneficiatedundertheNaregaonschemeunderwhichhehadreceived
4lakhrupeefromthegovernmentwhichhehadutilizedforconstructingwellandprovidingnecessary
irrigationfacilitytohisland.
Day5:WeattendedameetingwheretheNodalOfficerandtheCEOaddresstheSarpanchs,gothrough
theirworkingandgivetheirnecessaryoverviewandsuggestions.Afterthatwewenttoavillagewhich
isabout125kmfromthedistrictheadquarter.TheSarpanchofthatvillagegaveawarmwelcomeand
showedthenecessarydevelopmentthattookplaceinthatvillage.Heshowedustheschoolwheremid
daymealfacilitywasavailableandthedevelopmentsthattookplaceundertheNaregaonScheme.
FinallywecamebacktoourguesthouseandtheCollectorMrGaneshwarPatelcalledusandinvitedus
fordinner.Wereachedhisplaceat8pmanditwasagoodexperiencewithhim.Itwasreally

appreciableforusbecauseoftheresponsibilities,challengesandharddecisionsthathehastotake
everyday.Moreovertherespectthathehasgainedisreallymotivating.
Day6:TheNodalOfficertookustothedistricthospital.ItwaswelldevelopedwithWiFiconnectivity,
computerizedsystemandwellequippedwithnecessaryequipments.Themainprobleminthehospital
isthatnoneofthegooddoctorsarereadytostaythereastheplacewasverylessdeveloped.Moreover
thehospitalisnotatallhygienic.Peoplearenotawareoftheresponsibilitiesduringgivingbirthtoa
child.Malnutritionisthemajorproblem.

3. Noteworthyincidents(greatfeatofalocalvisionary,developmentalwonderorhumblingexperience)
Inruralimmersionwewereexposedtoworkingprocedureofadministrativesystem,wehaveseenthat
collectorofthedistrictsitforJanSunwaieveryweekonTuesday.Therewesawthatpeoplemostlycame
withtheirpersonalfamilymatterandwerepleadingCollectorforthejustice.Therewecametoknowabout
thedifferentproblemsfacedbyruralvillagersofwhichlandissueswerethemostcommonandthenwasthe
femaleabuseissue.
GovernmentisspendinglotsofmoneyforthebettermentofpeopleindifferentschemeslikeVatikaYojna,
NandanFulodhyanYojna,AgroHorticulturePlantationYojna,BhumishilYojna,ShailParnaYojna,KapilDhara
Yojna,SahaSudharYojna,GraminKriranghanYojna,IndiraAhwasYojnaetcbutalmostallthevillagerswere
unawareaboutthoseschemes.Eveninsomecaseswefoundthatsarpanjhhimselfwasnotawareabout
thoseSchemes.
OthermainproblemwesawwasthelowattendanceofteachersinPrimarySchoolastherewerenosuch
mechanismtomonitortheirattendanceorinmanycasetherewasvisitingteacherteachinginplaceofthe
appointedteacher.Evenmiddaymealimplementationwasalsofoundnotsoeffective.
Wefoundthatmostofthelandwereproperlyirrigatedbutbecauseofunavailabilityofsugarmillsorother
industrialhubstherewerenotcultivatinganyofthose.Soifanyagriculturerelatedindustryisputuptherewe
expectthestandardoflivingofthosefarmerscanberaisedtoagreatextent.Alsosurprisinglyasopposedto
otherruralvillages,wefoundthatveryfewofthevillagershavedomesticanimallikecoworbuffalo,so
providingsubsidisedloanfordomesticanimalsandsettingadiaryorcooperativesocietylikemotherdiary
couldalsohelpgreatlytowardsthedevelopmentoflivingstandardofpoorvillagers

4. Majorlearning(s)fromtheentireexperience
Thestandardoflivingisverylow.Peoplehavetofacemanychallengesintheireverydaylife.
Eveninordertobringwatertheyhavetowalkmiles.
Mostofthepeoplearenotawareoftheschemesthathavebeenimplementedbythe
Governmentfortheirbenefit.
Malnutritionisanothermajorprobleminthatarea.Peoplearenotawareofthestepsthatone
shouldtakeinordertokeeptheirchildhealthy.
Illiteracyistheanothermajorprobleminthatarea.Theliteracylevelisonly30%.
Implementationoftheschemesarenotdoneduetocorruptionatthegrassrootlevel.

Reflectionsontheentiretriphowdoesitchangeyouroutlooktowardsruralareas,people,govt,life
BeforeruralimmersionweusetothinkthatruralpartofIndiaisunderdevelopedandthevillagersarepooronly
becauseoftheirownnegligenceandillliteracybuthavingpersonallyvisitedthosevillagesandafterseeingthe
hardlifeofthemtheperspectiveofeveryoneamongourgrouphaschanged.Wetriedtoanalysetherootcause
ofthesepovertyandnowwethinkthatgovernmentistryingtoimplementdifferentmeasurestoupliftthembut
arenoteffectiveandhelplessinitsimplementation.Thismaybeduetoconnectivity,education,healthcare
problemetc.