IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Better than the soaps!
Social work is in her blood, she says. Her grandfather served
as sarpanch (head of the village) in his native village Soda for 15 years, and even used his own money to bring in roads, electricity and schools to his community. Some twenty years ago, he retired, the government ruled that only a woman candidate could contest elections from Soda, and the only person the villagers would have was Chhavi Rajawat.
“The decision to elect me was of the villagers, not mine, for they were the ones who pushed me into it,” said Chhavi. Recently felicitated with the Young Indian Leader award by Network18, this 30-year-old head of Soda, who is also a LSR graduate and an MBA, was naturally pleased with the honour. “When you’re doing something different and you know that it’s not going to be easy, you need support and motivation. This award comes as a motivation for me,” she beamed.
Elected sarpanch of Soda in February this year, Chhavi has had her hands full. “So far, it’s been good. There are a lot of projects that we want to do. One is to bring them potable water because water in that area, apart from being contaminated, is also extremely saline. When I got the water profiling done, where they took samples from all parts of the village, the report showed that the water was unsafe, even for irrigation. So, our main aim was to dig a few fresh water reservoirs, where our largest reservoir would be a little short of 100 acres, and the cost for that is Rs 2.5 crore. I have only been able to raise Rs 20 lakhs so far. Personally, I am not satisfied with my expectations but the villagers are more than happy, because nobody’s ever done even this much. We also worked on sanitation; we’ve brought toilets to people’s houses. Afforestation is the other issue. We got some 400 plus trees from the forest department.”
The lady, who once worked in the corporate sector in sales for a few years, is still pitching to possible clients; only, her cause has changed. “Raising funds has been the biggest challenge for me,” says Chhavi. “Initially, I thought that there would be some schemes that would help me out, but that didn’t come through. Then I thought that the corporate sector would help as part of their CSR activities, but that was a disappointment because none of the companies that I approached, came forward to help. Their excuse was, "your village is nowhere near our plant." Friends and family and one-off donations have helped her keep Soda’s boat afloat.
With a cosmopolitan lady like Chhavi heading the village, one could imagine an entire generation of women in this little village near Jaipur inspired and liberated. “In our Panchayat, there are 12 of us, including me, of which only four are men. Rest are all women,” she states proudly. While it isn’t her behind the arrangement, she certainly has ensured that all the ladies attend the Panchayat and freely speak their mind. “The difference is apparent. There are also more girls going to school. I’m sure it (her leadership) will have some effect,” said Chhavi. “I feel that there is such a huge need for educated people to come in and help improve the rural areas,” she adds.
Chhavi hopes that other educated people like her will take time off from their office cubicles and family businesses and try and help ‘Bharat’ catch up with India. For a last word, Chhavi says, “In five years, I wish to see my village self-sufficient and happier.” Godspeed Chhavi.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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ABN AMRO seeks India bank licence
IIPM announces Anna Hazare Fellowship
Japan PM Strongly Attacked, Lukewarmly Defended, Over Resignation Plans
GIDF Club of IIPM Lucknow Organizes Blood Donation Camp
Mobile application for Nokia phones is launched by The Times of India
Watching porn video is not a crime
Why your wife or girlfriend seems "off sex" of late?
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
Better than the soaps!
Social work is in her blood, she says. Her grandfather served
as sarpanch (head of the village) in his native village Soda for 15 years, and even used his own money to bring in roads, electricity and schools to his community. Some twenty years ago, he retired, the government ruled that only a woman candidate could contest elections from Soda, and the only person the villagers would have was Chhavi Rajawat.“The decision to elect me was of the villagers, not mine, for they were the ones who pushed me into it,” said Chhavi. Recently felicitated with the Young Indian Leader award by Network18, this 30-year-old head of Soda, who is also a LSR graduate and an MBA, was naturally pleased with the honour. “When you’re doing something different and you know that it’s not going to be easy, you need support and motivation. This award comes as a motivation for me,” she beamed.
Elected sarpanch of Soda in February this year, Chhavi has had her hands full. “So far, it’s been good. There are a lot of projects that we want to do. One is to bring them potable water because water in that area, apart from being contaminated, is also extremely saline. When I got the water profiling done, where they took samples from all parts of the village, the report showed that the water was unsafe, even for irrigation. So, our main aim was to dig a few fresh water reservoirs, where our largest reservoir would be a little short of 100 acres, and the cost for that is Rs 2.5 crore. I have only been able to raise Rs 20 lakhs so far. Personally, I am not satisfied with my expectations but the villagers are more than happy, because nobody’s ever done even this much. We also worked on sanitation; we’ve brought toilets to people’s houses. Afforestation is the other issue. We got some 400 plus trees from the forest department.”
The lady, who once worked in the corporate sector in sales for a few years, is still pitching to possible clients; only, her cause has changed. “Raising funds has been the biggest challenge for me,” says Chhavi. “Initially, I thought that there would be some schemes that would help me out, but that didn’t come through. Then I thought that the corporate sector would help as part of their CSR activities, but that was a disappointment because none of the companies that I approached, came forward to help. Their excuse was, "your village is nowhere near our plant." Friends and family and one-off donations have helped her keep Soda’s boat afloat.
With a cosmopolitan lady like Chhavi heading the village, one could imagine an entire generation of women in this little village near Jaipur inspired and liberated. “In our Panchayat, there are 12 of us, including me, of which only four are men. Rest are all women,” she states proudly. While it isn’t her behind the arrangement, she certainly has ensured that all the ladies attend the Panchayat and freely speak their mind. “The difference is apparent. There are also more girls going to school. I’m sure it (her leadership) will have some effect,” said Chhavi. “I feel that there is such a huge need for educated people to come in and help improve the rural areas,” she adds.
Chhavi hopes that other educated people like her will take time off from their office cubicles and family businesses and try and help ‘Bharat’ catch up with India. For a last word, Chhavi says, “In five years, I wish to see my village self-sufficient and happier.” Godspeed Chhavi.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Pakistani Soldiers Killed in Border Fighting
ABN AMRO seeks India bank licence
IIPM announces Anna Hazare Fellowship
Japan PM Strongly Attacked, Lukewarmly Defended, Over Resignation Plans
GIDF Club of IIPM Lucknow Organizes Blood Donation Camp
Mobile application for Nokia phones is launched by The Times of India
Watching porn video is not a crime
Why your wife or girlfriend seems "off sex" of late?
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
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