Rural Infrastructure
A step ahead in the overall advancement through pragmatic mediation
A step ahead in the overall advancement through pragmatic mediation
Farmers decided to unite and face the issue regarding the construction of new roads, together. Reconstruction of the farm roads was taken up on apriority basis by the villagers. The tehsildaar office provided JCB machines for the purpose. The villagers agreed to bear the required diesel expenses by contributions. Connecting roads measuring 19 km were constructed through this initiative. The convenience has now eased the transportation as farmers can drive their vehicles including heavy trucks right up to the farms. Thus, the time and expenses spent in the packing and moving the farm produce has gone down.
Internal roads have been constructed in Buchkewadi through a joint initiative of District Council or Zilla Parishad and the Buchkewadi administrative centre, Gram Panchayat. Outskirts of the village like Gavarwadi, Gavthan and Binge vasti have concrete roads to drive through.
As mentioned earlier, the infrastructure was not up to the mark in the village. The drainage systems needed immediate attention as they were inadequate and damaged. Open drainages were a major reason for unhygienic living conditions in the village. Various contagious diseases were spread through the open drainages.
The villagers were made aware of the ill effects of such living conditions through regular discussions. Village administrative centre or the Gram Panchayat agreed to spend the required amount to install appropriate drainage systems from its funds. The waste /sewage water is now disposed off following the required guidelines.
The structure of the Buchkewadi village can be described as an arrangement consisting of the central area called as Gavthan, which is surrounded by Hamlet called as wadis. These wadis house around 40 to 50 families. In the course of interventions, issue of a well-equipped pre-primary school was addressed in the discussions. Buchkewadi Gram Panchayat started small pre-primary facilities, the Aanganwadis, through an association with District Council, Zilla Parishad in each hamlet. This exercise helped in encouraging education amongst children.
The village women had started to take part in the on-going developments in the village in the course of interventions. They had become responsible contributors in the family, as well as the village. Considering a need of an exclusive place for the village women to assemble and carry out certain activities the Gram Panchayat planned to construct a special hall for women.
The village was progressing in varied areas in the course of interventions and a need for appropriate health facilities came up frequently. A primary health care centre was planned and constructed by the Gram Panchayat, in order to offer the basic health facilities to the villagers.
Gram Panchayat encouraged each family to construct toilets through the government scheme by the name Nirmal Gram Abhiyan. Gram Panchayat also took initiative to construct public toilets for the use of families, who had inadequate space to construct toilets. The common space belonging to the community was used. The toilets are well-maintained and properly used.
Through the schemes promoted by District Council or the Zilla Parishad, Gram Panchayat Buchkewadi facilitated a boost in water availability, by digging two wells and constructing nine Shivakalin Tanks as storage for water. The idea of these water storage tanks was used during the ‘Shivaji Raj’ in the 17th century by the human settlements on mountain tops and surrounding areas. These betterments assure ample water storage. This storage facility can be used to supply water for drinking as well as irrigation, during the shortage periods.
A new building has been constructed for use as a village administrative centre, Gram Panchayat, where the day-to-day activities like official duties, meetings, and discussions can be carried out conveniently.
