(14th Nov 2016 to 10th Dec 2016)
Introduction
Water and sanitation remains a major issue all over the world. Despite the presence of numerous policies, there is still a lack of availability of clean water as the policies are not implemented properly. This had led to the spread of numerous diseases in the community, especially in rural areas. Keeping this in mind, we took a major initiative to start water and sanitation programme in Odisha as it is one of the most neglected state in India. In order to address malnutrition and put pressure on Government to approve ‘Safe Drinking Water’ as a ‘Right’ and link it to the Constitution Article 21 – Right to Life, a huge Campaign (Padyatra) was organized all over the state. Additionally, we also demanded immediate intervention by the state to control Japanese Encephalitis deaths in Malkangiri.
Though the Central Government drafted national policy on water in the year 1987, 2002, 2012 and State Water Policy was formulated by the State Government in the year 2007; unfortunately there is still no adequate provision to ensure availability of safe drinking water to every citizen of the country.
Background
An intensive campaign was launched to share the consolidated work of 2 years with the administration to acknowledge, address and link the issues of malnutrition with safe drinking water. A total of 32408 males and 36694 females participated in the Padyatra and a total 66280 people were covered during the Padyatra.
Through this rally, we tried to understand the need of people, their perspective about water as well as tried creating awareness about the importance of safe drinking water. We also tried to make them recognize the long term impact of the existing situation on the society. Thus, people understood the issues and participated in the rally with vigor to put pressure on the administration so that government takes this matter into consideration and brings an Act for Safe Drinking Water. Even though there is a Policy for water, the issue was being neglected by the Government itself. Padyatra Campaign was conducted by the people’s organization (Sangathan).
The campaign was launched in Kandhamal and Malkangiri District on Children’s day to highlight the mortality rate due to malnutrition in both districts. However, the other 14 operational districts (i.e. Boudh, Gajapati, Daspalla, Koraput, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Balangir, Nuapada, Mayurbhanj, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Sundargarh) also organized campaigns and interfaced with block and district administration and shared infrastructure complaints and demands pertaining to safe drinking water.
Activities Carried out During the Padyatra in both Districts:
| Activity | Kandhmal | Malkangiri | Total |
| No. of Block Covered | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| No. of GP Covered | 36 | 43 | 79 |
| No of Village Covered | 157 | 120 | 277 |
| No. of Household Covered | 7538 | 6718 | 14256 |
| No. of village meeting conducted | 49 | 58 | 107 |
| Theater Performance on Nirapada Jala and sanitation | 41 | 21 | 62 |
| Song and Dance | 106 | 58 | 164 |
| Leaflet Distribution | 8079 | 4594 | 12673 |
| Signature Collected | 2851 | 59 | 2910 |
| Wall Writings | 463 | 115 | 578 |
| Focus Group Discussion with women | 46 | 20 | 66 |
| Water Sample collection | 209 | 29 | 238 |
| Petition sent to District Collector/CM | 89 | 89 | 178 |
| Identified Village Leader | 138 | 118 | 256 |
| No. of PRI Members Involved | 54 | 43 | 97 |
| Village Cleaned with Villagers | 88 | 59 | 147 |
Issues Identified During Padyatra
Kandhamal District
- Water related issues -166
- MGNREGA -11
- Toilets -11
- Forest Rights Act -14
- Road -5
- Electricity -3
- Food Security -16
Malkangiri District
- Water related issues -76
- MGNREGA – 41
- Toilets -17
- JE (Japanese Encephalitis cases) -24
Community Contribution
The entire Padyatra was conducted with the cooperation of the community and our sathis. The logistic arrangement was completely undertaken by the villagers and people contributed money, rice, dal, vegetables and fire wood to make this Padyatra campaign a success.
Contribution Status in Kandhmal:
| Item wise Contribution Collected | Amount in kg/piece | Cost of the unit | Total cost in cash |
| Rice In Quintal. | 1692 | 20 | 33840 |
| Dal Kg. | 287 | 120 | 34440 |
| Vegetable in Kg | 428 | 16 | 6848 |
| Spices in cash | 5757 | ||
| Firewood in Bandal | 35 | 200 | 7000 |
| Chicken in Kg | 108 | 160 | 17280 |
| Cash | 13990 | 1 | 13990 |
| Mike & Sound in cash | 3100 | 1 | 3100 |
| Tea | 1728 | 4 | 6912 |
| Biscuits | 503 | 5 | 2515 |
| Mudi | 18 | 35 | 630 |
| Grand Total | 132312 |
Contribution Status in Malkangiri:
| Item wise Contribution Collected | Unit | Cost of the unit | Total cost in cash |
| Rice In Quintal | 23.25 | 2000 | 46500 |
| Dal Kg | 340 | 120 | 40800 |
| Vegetable in Kg | 1077 | 20 | 21540 |
| Spices in cash | 7054 | 1 | 7054 |
| Firewood in Bundle | 35 | 200 | 7000 |
| Egg in Cash | 740 | 1 | 740 |
| Potato in Cash | 140 | 1 | 140 |
| Chicken in Kgs | 40 | 160 | 6400 |
| Cash | 15901 | 1 | 15901 |
| Mike & Sound in cash | 3100 | 1 | 3100 |
| Papad | 100 | 1 | 100 |
| Tea | 200 | 1 | 200 |
| Biscuits | 75 | 1 | 75 |
| Mixture | 40 | 1 | 40 |
| Grand Total | 149590 |
Achievements
There was a huge impact of the Padyatra in the rural area of both Kandhamal & Malkangiri District. It was a well planned process to activate and motivate the local leaders who became the medium of communication with various government officials.
In the initial stage of the Padyatra, people were totally ignorant about the importance of safe drinking water and water related diseases but gradually people came to know many things; they got lots of information not only about the water but also about the different government programs, schemes and provisions. The campaign had a huge impact on people starting with the acceptance of issues etc.
During the campaign, many issues were identified pertaining to water and other local issues. People were instructed to write down the petitions and they submitted the same to the District Collector and submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister. Through the campaign, people’s participation increased, messages were circulated through leaflet distribution and wall writing. The people were able to put a huge pressure on the State Government.
This Campaign also helped the organization to get social recognition in each and every corner of the State.
IMPACT: Launch of BASUDHA Scheme in Rural Areas
The consistent follow-ups and demand for drinking water brought about a great impact in the field of water and sanitation. A new drinking water scheme in both rural and urban areas in Odisha was launched in Budget 2017-18, in the name of great freedom fighter Bakshi Jagabandhu, BASUDHA with the cost of Rs. 1000/- crore in which a sum of Rs. 315/- crore was allocated for urban areas and sum of Rs. 715/- crore was allocated for rural areas.
This was the impact of our consistent fight regarding rights and entitlements, which made government introduce this water scheme for the financial year 2017-18.
- Highlights of BASUDHA Scheme:
- The scheme had two components, Bakshi Jagabandhu Saharanchal Paneeya Jala Jogana Karyakaram and Bakshi Jagabandhu Gramya Paneeya Jala Jogana Karyaram, for which Rs. 315/- Crore and Rs. 750/- Crore was allocated respectively.
- Besides that, Rs. 250/- Crore was been provided for operation and maintenance of large water supply systems.
- Swachh Bharat Mission:
- Provision of Rs. 1000/- crore and Rs. 188/- Crore was also been announced for the rural and urban components of the Swachh Bharat Mission respectively.
Through the campaign, we realized that our demands were reaching the government stakeholders and they also realized the need for providing safe drinking water in rural area.
Conclusion
The month long Padyatra on water & sanitization was a learning process where we got the participation of the people along with the local institutions. It also ensured that the local administration adheres to its roles and responsibilities effectively & efficiently in order to reduce the issues related to water and malnutrition and bring about various changes in behavior and attitudes in the society.
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