Team: Bandu Kumare, Field Assistant
Highlights
- Wildlife Week celebrations – 3 conservation rallies, 2 nature trails, 1 drawing contest
- Drawing contest on wildlife in one school
- Community assistance – public hygiene programmes in 3 villages
- Bandu also assisted in one programme on under-nourished village children and in one programme on personal hygiene
- Anti-plastic programmes in 2 villages
- Follow-up to plantation done earlier at 3 villages
- 9 classroom visits in environment education programme, attended by 290 students
- Driver’s training programme which started on September 22 for 20 unemployed villagers of Kolara, ended on October 22
- One unemployed youth placed in temporary job locally
- Health camps in 6 villages – total of 503 patients treated
- Two visits to Bhagwanpur to follow up status of relocated villagers
Conservation:
On October 14, Bandu organised an anti-plastic programme at Chorgaon in which school students cleaned up the village of plastic litter and waste. The litter/waste was then buried in pits.
23 students of the ZP Primary School and 1 teacher joined hands with Bandu in this task (above).
A similar programme was organised on October 15 at Adegaon with 18 students.
Cleanliness drive at Kondegaon
As part of our community assistance, we have been working with villagers on the need for public hygiene and cleanliness. As the monsoon has just ended, many roads/paths are overgrown with weeds and wild growth, which provide cover for snakes. We organized 3 programmes in October to clean up such paths/roads. The details are in the table above.
Cleanliness programme at Sitarampeth
On October 13, Bandu led 14 students of ZP Primary School, Mudholi on a nature trail in the jungle adjoining the village. Bandu, who earlier worked as a guide in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, helped the children identify local flora and fauna and explained the need for nature and wildlife conservation to them.
As part of our education/awareness programme, Bandu also organised a drawing contest on nature and wildlife at the ZP Primary School, Mudholi. 12 students of the school participated.
Separately, Bandu organised 3 conservation rallies (at Kutwanda on Oct 5, at Chorgaon and Adegaon on Oct 7), 1 nature trail at Sitarampeth on October 5 and one drawing contest at Kondegaon on October 7 as part of the Wildlife Week celebrations.
Drawing contest during Wildlife Week at ZP School, Kondegaon
Forest guard Kodwate talks to children about wildlife at Sitarampeth
Nature trail during wildlife week - Sitarampeth
Students and teachers of Kutwanda pose for a photo after nature trail
Street play with wildlife conservation message by children of Moharli
Conservation rally at Chorgaon
Conservation rally during Wildlife Week, Kutwanda
Rally on malnutrition in Moharli
On October 14, Bandu went to Dewada to monitor the progress of saplings planted in July. Bandu conducts regular follow-up visits to ensure that the saplings are watered properly and that they get adequate protection from livestock.
Tending to saplings planted during the monsoon at Dewada
Similar follow-up visits were made to Moharli on October 16 and Bamdeli on October 18.
Tending to saplings planted earlier in the year at ZP High School, Moharli
Education
During October, Bandu visited 9 schools to deliver lectures on nature and wildlife conservation.
Employment Cell
During October, Bandu helped one youth get temporary employment with the Forest Department. As part of our livelihood assistance programme, Bandu is in regular touch with local agencies, including the Forest Department, to track potential employment opportunities for village youths. When he got to know of one such vacancy as a tracker/patroller in the Forest department, he approached Round Officer Inwate. Shri Inwate met the youth introduced to him by Bandu, interviewed and then appointed him for a three-month term.
Pravin Pendam of Dewada, who got a job as a tracker with our assistance
A driver’s training programme organized for 20 youths of Kolara concluded on October 22. The youths will now go to the RTO for their tests before getting licences. Once the youths get their licences, we will assist them in getting jobs. The programme is funded through a donation received from Ms Diya Bannerjee, a wildlife activist and supporter of conservation work.
Mobile Health Unit (MHU)
We assisted nature Conservation Society, Amravati in conducting health camps in 6 villages during October.
Above, below: medical camp at Sonegaon
November
Highlights
- 2 shramdaans for water conservation – check dams at Chorgaon and Sitarampeth
- Follow-up to plantation done earlier at 4 villages
- Anti-plastic programmes and cleaning of school premises in 2 villages
- 1 nature trail
- 10 classroom visits in environment education programme, attended by 316 students
- One unemployed youth placed in temporary job locally
- Education van programme - 10 film shows on nature and wildlife, attended by 516 people
- Health camps in 6 villages – total of 299 patients treated
- Two visits to Bhagwanpur to follow up status of relocated villagers
Conservation
On November 4, our field assistant Bandu Kumare organised a shramdaan programme (voluntary work) to build a check/stop dam on a stream in the jungle around 1 km from Sitarampeth. One teacher from the village’s Zilla Parishad Primary School, two school officials and 16 students joined hands with Bandu in the shramdaan. The resultant body will benefit wildlife. Sloth bears, wild boars and nilgai are regularly spotted in the area.
On November 15, a similar programme was organised at Chorgaon to build a stop dam on a stream next to the jungle around 1 ½ kms from the village. Two villagers joined 5 teachers and 57 students of the ZP Primary School in the programme. Both domestic livestock and wildlife will benefit from this water body. Villagers say they have spotted leopards, barking deer and wild boars in the area.
Above, below: Check dam built through the shramdaan programme at Chorgaon
On November 5, Bandu went to Chorgaon to monitor the progress of saplings planted in July-August. Bandu conducts regular follow-up visits to ensure that the saplings are watered properly and that they get adequate protection from livestock. Similar follow-up visits were made to Moharli on November 9, Kondegaon on November 10 and Katwal on November 20.
On November 8, Bandu organised an anti-plastic programme at Sitarampeth in which school students cleaned up the main village road of plastic litter and waste. They then cleaned up the school premises.The litter/waste was then buried in pits. 13 students of the ZP Primary School and 1 teacher joined hands with Bandu in this task.
A similar programme was organized on November 10 at Dewada with 14 students and
two teachers.
On November 10, Bandu led 17 students of ZP Primary School, Kondegaon on a nature trail in the jungle adjoining the village. Bandu, who earlier worked as a guide in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, helped the children identify local flora and fauna and explained the need for nature and wildlife conservation to them.
Education
During November, Bandu visited 10 schools to deliver lectures on nature and wildlife conservation.
Employment Cell
During November, Bandu helped one youth get employment at Chandrapur. Earlier in the year, Bandu had helped two youths get jobs at a shop which deals in chickens. On a follow-up visit to check on their progress, Bandu was told by the owner of the shop that he needed more people. Bandu then arranged for a youth from Kutwanda to get the job.
A driver’s training programme which we had organized for 20 youths of Kolara concluded on October 22. 15 of the trainees passed their RTO test at the first attempt on November 30. The remaining 5 will take the test again in December.
The programme was funded through donation received from Ms Diya Banerjee, a wildlife activist and supporter of conservation work.
Above, below: Diya Banerjee and SF staff interacting with youths trained in driving 4-wheelers in a programme funded by Diya in Kolara.
Education Van
There were 10 film shows on nature and wildlife in November.
MHU
We assisted nature Conservation Society, Amravati in conducting health camps in 6 villages during November.
Bhagwanpur
Bandu visited Bhagwanpur on November 13-14 and November 29-30 to follow up on the status of the relocated villagers.
The status of the villagers is not very good. While the Kolsa side of the village is able to do farming activities properly, the Botezari side is struggling due to non-availability of water. Unless the Moulzari tank is built, this section of people will continue to struggle.
Due to poor farming yield, the villagers are struggling for livelihood. Some of them have now started to steal wood from the adjoining forest and sell this in Chandrapur to earn some money.
With the soya bean crop having been harvested, the villagers who went for daily wage work to Jam and Samudrapur have also returned are idle in the village.
Villagers went to Chandrapur to meet the FD, TATR and SP and submitted a petition asking
- that the village be renamed Bhagwanpur-Botezari
- villagers said that at a meeting held in March, the District Collector Chandrapur had promised a grant/subsidy assistance of Rs 47,000/- per resettled family. This has not yet been paid. (reported already in July)
- Bhagwanpur villagers want a separate GP for themselves. Currently, they are listed as attached to Tolewahi GP. The villagers have not paid their property tax for the past 4-5 years. As a result, the Tolewahi Gram Panchayat is not pushing any development work in the village.
- Villagers want the internal roads and gutters to be concretized
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