Highlights
·
5 water conservation voluntary work projects
during the month – 3 new soak pits built, one existing pit cleared and one
check dam built
·
5 awareness programmes on vermi-compost
·
Classroom visits to 15 schools as part of
our environment education programme – attended by 737 students
·
6 films shows on wildlife and nature
conservation – attended by 141 students
·
Village meetings for relocation work
·
Visit to check on status of relocated
villages
·
Participation in Pachmarhi Utsav at
Pachmarhi
Conservation
During December, we organized 5 voluntary work project programmes related to water conservation.
On December 19, we organized a program to dig a soak pit at the Government Primary School, Mehandikheda. 10 students from the school joined hands with Hameed in digging the pit, which will take spillover water from a hand pump on the school premises. The pit will help to recharge the water table around the hand pump.
On December 23, we organized a
programme to dig a soak pit at the Government Primary School, Jamandhonga. 13 students from the school
joined hands with Hameed in digging the pit, which will take spillover water
from a hand pump on the school premises. The pit will help to recharge the
water table around the hand pump.
On December 24, we organized a programme to build a check dam on a stream around 3.5 km from Jamandhonga village. 18 children from Government Middle School Jamandhonga joined hands with Ashfaq and Hameed Khan to build the dam. The resultant water body will benefit domestic livestock in the day time and wildlife at night. Spotted deer, monkeys and other wild life are regularly spotted in the area.
As part of our efforts to reduce
villagers’ dependence on forests for firewood, we organize programmes to
promote the use of bio-gas. We also encourage villagers to use vermi-compost to
reduce the use of chemical fertilizers in areas adjoining wildlife habitats. As
part of this strategy, we organized 5 programmes in December to promote the use
of vermi-compost and bio-gas. The details are given in the table below.
Education
During the month, our team made
classroom visits to 15 schools to educate children about nature and wildlife
conservation.
 |
| Hamid talks to students at Mehandikheda school |
Education Van
During December, our team
conducted a total of 6 film shows on nature and wildlife conservation.
 |
| Film show at Jhirpa |
 |
| Film show at Nawalgaon-Chopna |
Employment Cell
On December 13, a senior official
of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) visited
villages in our area of operations. The official, Mr. R K Mahule, Deputy
District Manager, based at Hoshangabad, asked Ashfaq to arrange for a meeting
with women’s self-help groups (SHGs) in our area. Ashfaq organized a meeting of
80 women belonging to 7 SHGs from 3 villages where we work. Mahule spoke to
these women about various livelihood options that NABARD supports. The meeting was
organized at Dokrikheda.
 |
| NABARD official discusses livelihood options with SHG members |
Proposed relocation
Ashfaq organized meetings of the
residents of Jamandhonga, Chakar, Muhar, Raikheda, Anjandana and Nayakheda
villages to discuss relocation-related issues. Ashfaq was asked to organize
these meetings by Shri R.P. Singh (Field Director), and Shri Sanjeev Sharma
(Range Officer Pachmarhi Range), Satpura Tiger Reserve.
Relocated
villages
Ashfaq visited the relocated
villages of Dhargaon, Nandner, Kukra, Anjandana and Nayakheda during December
to follow up on the status of the relocated villagers.
Pachmarhi Utsav
Every year, the district
administration organizes a 4-day festival at Pachmarhi known as Pachmarhi
Utsav. At this festival, various Government departments selected NGOs and local
artisans and craftsmen put up stalls to showcase their work. Satpuda Foundation
put up a stall in which we displayed presentations of our activities and
distributed literature about biodiversity and conservation. Around 3,000 people
are estimated to have visited the festival over the 4 days.
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