RCB Checks In With Gale

PND BIMAL MEHTA REPORTS ON RCB’S VISIT TO GALE ON MARCH 5TH, 2023 Rtn. Vinti Gajree, Rtn. Miral Shah, Rtn. Ptn. Seena Sanghi and I visited Gale Village to review projects undertaken during the year. Rahul
Tiwrekar, founder of Diganta Swaraj, and his team were also present.

Our first stop was the Anganwadi where we met the sarpanch and the farmers. We have recently installed 25 drip irrigation pumps and distributed seeds for rabi crops. We were pleased to hear that our agriculture initiatives made a positive impact and would also significantly increase farmers’ incomes this year. Many mentioned that they expected their earnings to increase by three or four times because of the year-round water availability.

Our next plan of action is:

• Kisan cards for farmers.
• Crop insurance.
• Training to improve crop yields and agricultural productivity.
• Regularise land records for farmers.
• Marketing initiatives to help farmers get a better price for crops.

We will facilitate some of these through the agriculture ministry, Government of Maharashtra.

RCB also spoke to a women’s group to understand their issues and requirements as it was their responsibility to fetch water from the river. Before the lift irrigation RCB CHECKS IN WITH GALE project, they spent three to four hours daily and walked approximately 5 km to fetch water. With water now available within 100 metres of their homes, the women have more time for other productive work. Many of them help men in the fields. The construction of individual toilets has also made a big difference to their lives from a safety and health perspective. We have built and renovated 55 toilets and hope to complete the balance 21 toilets within a month.

The sarpanch told us that all the villagers had opened bank accounts and obtained Aadhar cards. This will allow them to avail of various government schemes; the Diganta Swaraj team will facilitate this.

Construction of the Livelihood Centre is progressing well. We hope to finish construction in 45 days. The women will primarily run the Centre and we used this opportunity to discuss their ideas on how to run the centre. It has
been decided to install ground nut processing and patrawali rice plate machines. The group will internally discuss what third activity they want to pursue and decide what kind of machine to procure. It was also decided to form a committee to monitor the progress of the activities and facilitate the marketing of the products. A representative of the Rotary Club of Bombay will be part of this committee.

Finally, we are kickstarting our impact assessment with a thirdparty agency in April.

While we are happy with the progress, much more remains to be done to make Gale a model village.