“JALER APAR NAM JIBAN”/ LIFE!!! ANOTHER NAME IS WATER
(A PROCESS REPORT)
“One day I went to the western side of my village. There I saw that some cow, goat, dog, camel were
drinking water and some people were takinga both together in a half drought pond. It struck me that time
that animal and human are not so aggressive when it comes to consuming water”
… Bishwarup Kumar (a villager of Purulia District / 21st March 2009).
A senior official of the agriculture department admitted that almost the entire Purulia district and parts of
Bankura were perennially drought- prone area. He also admitted that completed medium irrigation
projects in the drought-prone Purulia district could have irrigated 35,000 hectares, but they are actually
irrigating only about 6,300 hectares.
…The Times of India (7th Aug 2002)
Purulia is a drought prone area compared to the other districts in West Bengal. For that reason I decided
to organize an awareness program in the district through “One Water” film. For the screening of the film
I choose two locations in a village. One was a Middle School called Kotshila Girls high School and the
other was in Goyaladi Village.
Before organizing the program we met with the head mistress of the school and others teacher. We also
met the panchyat pradhan of the villages. We invited the Block Development Officer and Sabhapati of
Jhalda-II Block for the screening. We also informed and invited the local NGOs and stake holders of the
village.
First Screening in Kotshila Girls High School on 21st March 28, 2009 at 2.00 pm: On the day of the program 128 participants were present.
• 92 Girls Students of Kotshila High School.
• 4 School Teachers with Head Mistress of the School.
• 20 Pratham Panchyat Volunteers.
• 3 Pratham Block Leaders.
• 6 Pachyat Members wit Panchyat Pradhan.
• 3 members of an NGO (Lock Kalyan Parisad).
At the screening, first the ASER Associate gave an introduction about the importance of water and how
the documentary film would help us to understand the importance of water. After that Mr. Sajal Ghosh
(Block Leader of Pratham) conducted the introduction session. Then the film was screened. After the
film screening the audiences gave their feed back.
The Panchyat Pradhan told us that, his panchyat tried to solve water problem in his village but that the
panchyat can not solve the irrigation problem.
The NGO members also told us that their organization was trying to solve the water problem through
plantations like, Slope Plans, Boundary Plants, Surface Plants, Wire Plants etc.
Other participants also told us how they were trying to prevent water pollution, and how water can be
put to multi use.
Second Screening in Goyaladi Village on 21st March 28, 2009 at 7.00 pm: The second screening was in a community/village. About 140 villagers from Guyaladi were present.
First the panchyat member of the village gave an opening speech to the villagers. After that the ASER
associate introduced the other Pratham members. At 8.00 pm the film was screened.
At the end of the film the villagers gave their feedback. The feedback session was very interesting. The
villagers told us that their village had major water shortage because their panchyat has installed hand
pump but the 3 hand pump did not work properly and during summer months the other 2 handpumps
also did not work.On the other hand they told a water project was launched in 2005 in their block, “there
is an underground pipe line but there is no water supply”. The villagers also told us that most villagers
took their bath in a big pond; local people called it ‘Bandh’. This village faced a big problem regarding
irrigation.
The feedback from the Villagers, Panchyat Members, School Teacher, School going children and
others are follows: •
Name of the student: - Piu Hazra (Std- V)
Don’t misuse water. Usage of excess water for bathing and washing has to be stopped.. Stop
water pollution. Save water, safe life.
•
Name of the student: - Mou Roy Bhandari (Std- VI)
Another name for water is life. Earth Consists of 70% water and 30% land. Presence of life will
be negligible in absence of water.
•
Name of the student: - Anita Murmu (Std-VII)
We would like to take an oath that from today onwards we will not misuse water and will
always try to preserve water.
•
Name of the student: - Manjjushree Mahato (Class-V)
We all know another name of water is life. Life is not possible without water. More Over, no
living being can live without water. We all should help preserve water.
•
Judhistthir Kumar (Teacher of Kortshila Girls School).
We have to be aware about water pollution. Our objective should be to stop water misuse and
water pollution. Reservoirs have to be set up under every tap and during monsoons so that water
can be preserved and used when needed.
•
Smt Lankamani Mahato (Villager)
There is no life without air and water. Hence everyone should try to preserve water.
Conclusion: The water screening film was very effective for the school going students and the villagers. I
know from the program that in the village (Kortshila), they have a big water problem. Summer
season is coming soon and they are very worried about their upcoming situation. They will not
misuse water.
SAMPLE OF FEEDBACK FROM THE VILLAGE
FEEDBACK WAS TAKEN ON A LONG CHART PAPER (3 ART PAPER ATTACHED TOGETHER)
PARTICIPANTS WROTE THEIR COMMENTS WITH COLORED PENS.
A SMALL PORTION OF THE SAME IS ATTACHED BELOW
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