Digambarpur bags national award for involving local people in making plans

Kolkata: Digambarpur Gram Panchayat under Patharpratima block in South 24-Parganas has bagged the national award in making plans that have involved local people. The contest was held among 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats in the country.

Subrata Mukherjee, state minister for Panchayat and Rural Development, along with Dibyendu Sarkar, Commissioner, Panchayat and Rural Development, Samir Jana, local MLA, C M Jatua, local Trinamool Congress MP and Subhasish Chakraborty, Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP, had visited the GP and felicitated it.

The Panchayat and Rural Development department had sent the plans taken up by five GPs for the competition.

After coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had stressed on the construction of rural roads, along with drinking water and development of other infrastructure. As a result, the scenario in rural Bengal has experienced major changes over the past seven years.

She also held a two day Panchayat conference at Netaji Indoor Stadium and urged all the Panchayats to come up with new plans and execute them properly.

Digambarpur Gram Panchayat has taken up a unique plan to provide drinking water to 600 families. With the help of an NGO, an overhead tank has been constructed to store water. It is then purified and then supplied to individual families with the help of pipelines.

The local people are contributing on a monthly basis for maintenance of the project. The Panchayat has also asked the local people to get in touch when there is fall in the quality of water, if the taps are found to be not working, in case of leaks in the pipelines, etc.

The Panchayat has also taken up a leading role in solid waste management. The waste is segregated at source. The Panchayat has successfully made plans involving the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) by women.

The Kanyashree brigade has played a leading role in creating awareness among women, particularly in the field of health and hygiene.

South 24-Parganas has been declared as a Open Defecation Free (ODF) district and the Panchayat members, along with local people, had organised an intense campaign urging people not to litter in the open.

Digambarpur is also playing a key role in crab cultivation and has helped people to become self reliant. Pan cultivation and raising of ducks have also helped them to regain their financial health. The Panchayat has taken up schemes involving the villagers and their opinions are being considered to make plans.