Water,water,everywhere…

Rajashi Mukherjee,country coordinator for Water for People,an NGO that trained these people,said: “They were taught how to repair and maintain the waterbodies in their villages through the Jalabandhu workshop that was conducted and the village community would pay them money for repairing the waterbodies. In this way they were able to earn money and they were also taught how to spread awareness about hygiene and cleanliness.”

While touring the villages and repairing the water sources had been a part of their job,it really was after the cyclone that they set out to help the people. While the other NGOs and government officials were still struggling to reach the far-flung villages,these villagers went around repairing and desalinating the water resources thus helping villagers get back their source of fresh water. While the other villagers were struck with water-borne diseases,these villagers slowly helped around 40 to 45 villages get back to their feet by providing them with clean and safe drinking water.

“Most of them are from Pathar Pratima,the block that bore the brunt of Cyclone Aila. These villagers had not only been taught how to repair tube wells but had also been provided with spares so that they would not need to travel to get them. Around 30 such people had been trained and they were among the first to reach these affected villages,” said Mukherjee.

It is to highlight their work and contribution towards their society that they were honoured in Kolkata in front of government officials and other dignitaries in the city.

“They are simple village folk… yet they went about quietly helping people get back to their feet. They chose to venture out of their own villages and travel to the other affected villages to lend them a hand. But they need more support to work and through the felicitation we are hoping that the government might come up with schemes that can help them continue their work,” said Mukherjee.

The selected few had been picked up in early January this year and imparted training. Most of them,from small obscure villages in south Bengal,were semi-skilled labourers and by the time the cyclone hit the villages they were trained enough to handle the crisis.

“These people were out there on the field and they desalinated nearly 150 to 200 ponds which had gone completely under water and the water had become unsuitable for consumption. When they were asked what they wanted as a way of felicitation they said they wanted cycles which would enable them to reach their destination quicker,thus enabling them to cover more villages,” said Mukherjee.

Today,nearly six months after the super-cyclone that ravaged Bengal,these 30 spirited men are still continuing their work of repairing tube wells and desalinating water bodies. For them,the effort to provide fresh water and introduce villagers in South 24-Parganas to clean hygiene continues.