WELCOME District Rural Development Cell Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal

UTTAR DINAJPUR Based on parameters like Child Mortality, Literacy, School enrolment, per capita income, status of health & Education, the District of Uttar Dinajpur ranked 13th among the 18 districts under study in West Bengal (West Bengal Human Development Report, 2004). Social Status of Women in the District is very poor with women literacy at 37%, which is the 2nd lowest in the state (ibid). Economic backwardness of this agrarian district as a whole compels massive out-migration, especially in the lean season.

Pandeypur Swarnajayanti Mahila Dal – An SHG formed with members from Schedule Tribe Families of a remote Tribal Village of Karandighi – I Gram Panchayat under Karandighi Development Block of Islampur Sub-division of Uttar Dinajpur District.

Background: Members belonged to the BPL families, who used to earn their livelihood solely from Wage-earning leading to less than sustenance level of income! They had had only their homestead land apart from few decimals of unirrigated cultivable land!! Their lives were marked by illiteracy, seclusion and abject poverty with least regard to good sanitary and health practices!!! Trite, taboo and prejudice were the part and parcel of their daily life!!!! The male members of the families were sunk into country liquior throughout days.

Once a lady from a local NGO visited the families and told them about the importance of forming the SHG in general and the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojona, in particular! The members learned her lessons but did not believe all what were told!! Furthermore, the males of the families were reluctant to allow their wives attending meetings & talking to others outside their own familiar domain. The lady visited them repeatedly and with the help of local Gram Panchayat, Block they succeeded in overcoming all the obstacles & at last formed the SHG in September, 2003 with 10 BPL members, all belonging to ST category !!!

Pandeypur Swarnajayanti Mahila Dal Secretary (group leader) : Smt. Tultuli Murmu Koskadhakshaya (treasurer): Smt. Gouri Murmu Bank: State Bank of India, Karandighi Br. Cash Credit Account Opened on 07/12/2004 with a C/C limit of Rs. 16000/- where DRDC subsidy was only Rs. 5000/-

Support from DRDC, UDZP In mid 2004, RF of Rs. 5000.00 as 1st dose was released. After 1 year, the 2nd dose of RF of Rs. 15000.00 was released. Rs. 50,000.00 was given for construction of Piggery shade in 2005 On successful running of piggery project for 3 years, the proposal of the group for venturing into new activity of poultry was accepted and Rs. 1.57 Lakh was given for building of Brooding House. The group has already passed the 2nd Grading Test and the process of Project Linkage is in the pipe line.

Initially, the group bought two pigs- both of Ghungru variety – at a cost of Rs. 1200.00. Residual amount of Rs. 14800.00 was kept as reserve for procuring food items and other things for the days ahead. After a gap of 6 months, 8 piglets were born. All the piglets were sold out after three months at a price of Rs1000.00 per piglet, yielding a high return. This incident served as a big moral booster for the group members.

They have got the self-confidence that they can do a great thing on themselves & even without the help from their male-counters. With this taste of success, they went on rolling the business of piggery with more vigour & profits continued coming in, though the business was limited to a small scale. Then the DRDC, UDZP came forward and built a brooding house for rearing of poultry/ broiler.

The brooding house remained unused for three years- from 2007 to the early part of 2010- when the group was indecisive as how to start the poultry venture. Then the District unit of Animal Resource Development Department came in. The Department entrusted the group with a task of rearing about 1200 chicks of 1 or 2 day(s) old for 28 days at a cost of rearing of Rs. 2.00 per chick, when the chicks were to be returned to the department for distribution among the villagers. This cycle of rearing went on for 12 times yielding a substantial profit in cash as well as leaving behind a few residual chicks at the hands of each member.

Having satisfied with this performance of the group the ARD Deptt Having satisfied with this performance of the group the ARD Deptt. posed upon the group a greater responsibility from March, 2011 of rearing 2500 chicks for 28 days, after which 100 chicks are to be distributed among 21 selected groups at a price of Rs. 3200.00 per group. Apart from piggery and poultry, the group is also engaged in preparation of Cooked Mid-day Meal for a local primary school. 2 among the group members are set aside for this work. It earned them Rs. 1000.00 as remuneration from cooking and Rs. 500.00 as profit from procurement of cooking materials.

Present Status: The male members of the group, having tested the fruits of income enhancement of the family out of the group activity, turned into admirers of the group. Most of the male members left their pre-group era activities of wage-earning and started ventures such as Tea Stall, Grocery Shop, better agricultural practices in their small holdings of land by virtue of investments of their wives’ group activities. Level of incomes of the families of each of group members have been enhanced substantially to about Rs. 6000.00 pm.

The rights of the womanhood have been established on a firm footing and the members take decisions on their own, in sharp contrast to the pre-group situation. Having exposed to the bigger society, the members have adopted the practices of low-cost sanitary latrines, prevented the culture of male domination and severe intoxication and conducive atmosphere of First-Generation School and College Goers would be created.

“This is the beginning of a Never-ending story” THANK YOU