Aminpur Water and Soil Testing Begins....

Center for Knowledge and Skills (CKS) and Visva Bharati University have joined to organize Water and Soil Testing as part of internship of two students from Environment Science department of the Visva Bharati University in Aminpur village, near Bolpur. Readers of this blog are aware that CKS works in Aminpur to help the poor tribal people of the village for their socio-economic development. In this major research activity to be conducted over a period of six months, one of the students will collect water samples from source, collection points in the village, storing facility at homes and from the hands of users. The study will help to analyse (a) hygienic behaviour relating to handling of water in the tribal community (b) ascertain the kind of activities that would be required to undertake as part of awareness building in the community.

In the other study, soil samples from the agricultural fields of the farmers will be collected over a period to study the changing nature of soil, and the support the community would require in terms of agricultural interventions to increase their produce.  Dr. B. Chandran from the Environment Science department will guide the students on the technical aspects of the study. We thank the faculty of  Environment Science for accepting to take up this study for the benefit of the poor tribals in the area, in collaboration with CKS.

Marketing the Disabled

Since there is a large fair in Bolpur on the occasion of Christmas,known locally as "Poush Mela", I went to see the fair. It was pretty large and well managed. As I was walking in, due to the crowd that was jostling from every side, I was looking ahead and walked, trying to avoid as much of pushing as possible. Suddenly I tumbled on something, and I almost fell over. When I looked back, I was shocked. There was a woman, on a wooden bed of about 1.5 ft wide, 4 ft long and about 1 ft high. The lady had just two limbs. Soon, as I walked around the fair, I saw at least three more persons, with one or two limbs missing in similar "beds" just in the middle of people's way. Certainly they could not have come there by themselves. So who brought them in? I began to ponder! And who is gaining out of bringing them in and taking them out? Something is really messy there, in this land of Rabindranath Tagore, just within the university complex started by the national poet. It is shame that people are marketing disability instead of giving dignity to these people. Someone should take action against this sheer shameless marketing of people's disability. This is nothing less than generating a beggary market. Hope the Chairman of Bolpur Municipality, the law enforcement authorities and the University administration is listening. And before we end, being the eve of Christmas let me wish everyone  

Very Happy Christmas!