Women Destroy Parthenium

Women of Self Help Groups supported by Social Welfare Institute in Patiram area destroyed hundreds of thousands of Parthenium plants that had grown wild along the State Highway that runs through their villages. Twenty eight women and two staff of Social Welfare Institute dressed in masks and gloves given as gift by the Issaqua family of Washington State, (brought by our own Andrea Smith during her last visit to Raiganj), spent the entire 07 September, 2008, a Sunday --from dawn to dusk--in cutting down, gathering and then destroying the Parthenium plants with boiling hot water. The team destroyed the weed for a distance of two-and-a-half kilometers on either side of the road. The parthenium, if comes in contact, creates respiratory malfunctioning in humans and cattle. The event was covered by many local print and electronic media. Congrats to the team of women and to Mr. Jayanta Das and Fr. Herman Kindo, who coordinated and motivated the women.