kewat community and their Displacement struggle concluded with good news.

                                              

Almost completing two and half hour travelling on train us along with sabana Mam arrived on 7:30PM in the evening at Ambedkarnagar (Akbarpur). Mr. Manoj singh is the social activist who is looking after the community work. He came to receive then by walking by walking we went to the Hotel. Akbarpur city is quite smaller than Banaras. We went there then planned for next day schedule. Next day early in the morning we went to kewat community of chintaura village, Tanda Block, Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

     Kewat community living in the Shore of Ghagra River since 1975 had the seventy six families of the manjhi (Fisherman Community) were settled by the immediate Sub- Divisional Magistrate Baba Hardev which is 20 kilo meter away from the district headquarter. Before, they were living in the bank of majha and they lost their houses, crops and vegetables in the field and other essential belongings every year due to flood. Then they have to migrate to different places during rainy season. So, Baba Hardev settled them in the bank of Ghagra River but they did not find the legal paper and documents of the land. After few years some families left and settle down to different places.

      Not having allotment of land, the people of chintaura can’t settle to make their pucca or mud hut. They were living in the thatched roof. Because of this they had to wake up whole night in rainy season. They should get scared of storm or thunder storm. Going deeply about their problem the people informed that they were deprived from all governmental schemes such as Antodaya anna Yojana card, work under MGREGA, and hospital and education etc. These survivors facing apathy from Government Institution and were lonely and isolated, completely hopeless and demoralized. They felt their inherent dignity as human being has been destroyed. 

PVCHR provided multi-layers and multi-dimensional direct support and effective access to essential services for the healing, empowering and justice to the survivors of Chintaura. In 2010 this village was selected for creating torture free model village support of Rehabilitation and Research Center for torture Victim now known as DIGNITY: Danish Institute against Torture. PVCHR worked with traumatized victims of torture represent a pragmatic means to use victims’ narratives to build rights based consciousness and resistance. On the basis of testimonies, urgent appeal was issued and later was sent to various concerned authorities. The matter was intervened with the various concerned authorities. The commission takes a serious view and directs its registry to issue summons to the concerned authority. 

      Finally In 2015 they received allotment and procession of land for housing (0.009 hectare) in 3 kilometer away from the village to 23 families. Now aanganwadi (ICDS) and ANM are coming in the village for providing health facilities to the pregnant mothers and children. The people are having food grains from government shop and unique identity card i.e Aadhar card on the address of chintaura settlement.

There are 12 more families who haven’t got land. Now, the PVCHR is going to advocate for providing land to remaining families and livelihood opportunities to the kewat families.
     There is documentary video of kewat community in YouTube so fo that you can type annu baskota and see my video.

Along with PVCHR Works, My Experience on Rural Area in India...

Harauwa block, Aura village:  

                           

              On 22^nd February, 2019 we went to Aura village for giving primary health to the dalit community. The village is 15 kilo meter away from the PVCHR office.  We all were excited to visit the community as well as little nervous to tell about the primary health education to the community in Hindi.  It was our first day in field visit. Before that we did our intensive work for preparing the presentation in Hindi and also communication material such as poster etc.

Around 11: 30 we reached there, PVCHR activist Mr. Shobnath and Mr. Subhas Prasad assisted us in this village. First we went for the door to door meeting to understand the knowledge of the community on the communicable and non – communicable diseases while PVCHR is working for pregnant women and child care since 2015 October.  During discussion we came to know that lack of awareness in family planning, malnutrition and eyes problem etc. There is a major problem of sanitation which causes a lot of health problems. PVCHR is working with this community on the issue of maternal and neo – natal health from last one year.  During door to door we met with many women brief is given below:

Chanda , she is having three babies. The difference between each child was just only one and half year.  Her youngest son is suffering from malnutrition. Having three babies curiously I asked her the cause of being malnutrition. She answer I didn’t had iron capsule during my pregnancy. Baby was born with the normal weight of 2.5 kg  but it effects after. Now her baby is too week and that he is one and half year but can’t walk and talk nicely.  

Khusi Jitendra; her baby girl (saumya) is two months old. Her baby was healthy and I felt happy the way she take care of her child.  Khushi mother – in – law was also supporting her in taking care of the child and providing her time for taking rest.

Lalita, she had HRP (high pregnancy risk) but now she along with her baby is healthy. There are lots of home where one single mother has a four or five babies having just one year gap each. In same case they have eyes problems and malnutrition. Some people from the community also take treatment from ojha and sokha for the health problem. Most of the people belief to the havoc of quacks (jholaa chaap doctors), they are the serious risk for community health because without having doctor degree and proper practice quacks gives medicines without the proper diagnosis which later is a life risk for the patient.

 Apart from the health issues the community also discussed other problem such as:

•          Some of the students are not able to go school because of aadhaar card. Aadhar card is a 12 digital number having unique identification authority of India (UDIDAI) will issue for all residents in India.  We found there until having card they will not get admission in school which is totally unfair because child have a right of free education and its happening only in this community otherwise rest of the communities schools are giving admission and school has help them to make card.
•        The MGNERGA was initiated with the objective of enhancing livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work and now it has been stop by government which is causing a big problem of economic source and lead to the migration of village people to the cities. 

Roaming around I found one good environment is having toilet in each home through swachcha bharat aviyaan.

After door to door visit we had intensive community meeting, in the community 21 women actively participated even the community main (panchayat pradhan) Ms. Vitwotma was also presented in the meeting. We altogether aware them on health problems like malaria, dengue, fever, diarrhea, chickenpox, typhoid, some viral diseases, sanitation and primary health care. Malnutrition was the problem we saw there we discuss about it.

•          Focusing on healthy and timely food schedule can make the baby normal again. 
•          Discuss about family planning issues applying different resources, sexually transmitted infection and diseases.
•        Informed them about the facilities provided by the Government hospital. The treatment provided in Government hospital is cost – effective and treatment is provided by qualified doctor after the diagnosis. Health is also the fundamental rights.
•         People are so positive about PVCHR and works.
•        We inspire them to live in unity. Women should accomplish and support to each other. The positive changes on us can change the family; through family it can change the community and finally the nation.

Mr. Subash Prasad who is social activist of that ghetto was helping us to visit community also collecting the data of pregnant women and make them remember about the six thousand rupees that every pregnant woman get after giving birth by the government.

Back Ground

                        Since 2004 PVCHR is helping community to improve their living standards as they belong from the most marginalized community or dalits (i.e chamar and nut etc).  In the initial phase i.e. entry point in the village, the work started through building their knowledge on different Government scheme (i.e pension, old age allowance etc).

 Then they started working for infrastructure development as it is just few meters away from main road had problem on transportation facility. PVCHR mobilizes moment for enhancing development works while there were number of women who supported them rather than men. From 2005 to 2007 community people fight for basic infrastructure development, where there were total 175 labors and among them 85 were women. There moment was succeed with road development but there is still drain problem so water pit are full with dirty water which leads several health problems. As we see the society in this present days women were most active than the men. They confront that men used to play cards, drink alcohol and do domestic violence but since when the PVCHR started working on society they find lots of changes. The men of the community are working nowadays but also comparing to women they don’t worth it. Women are working as labor to cause to grow vegetation or crops on other land behalf on that they get some percentage of fertile productiveness.  Talking about the same time PVCHR help them to fight for justice and ask for their position in the society. PVCHR encourage the person belongs to the society can be the community main (panchayat pradhan) so that they can have power to make their community strong. It’s been more than 25 years that dalit is ruling the community being village dominant (gaam pradhan).