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Village women take on MNC brands upmarket stores brands
Two years on, no state funds to protect women
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Towards a picture perfect look
A patient undergoes Non-Ablative Erbiyium Glass Laser treatment at a camp in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
Ignorance axes eco efforts
Sweet shops enter choco business
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Village women take on MNC brands upmarket stores brands
Dehradun, March 22 Making a humble beginning in 2003, the cooperative has gained in strength with more than 200 women engaged in the production and sale of mouth-watering pickles and jams, giving value addition to the locally grown fruits. As of now, 250 women of 22 groups are actively engaged in the production and sale of garlic, ginger, chilli and mixed vegetable pickle. The latter comprises mango and seasonal vegetables. The women also make fruit jam, chutney and amla candy. The products sold under the brand names of “Rawain’s Nature Pure” and “Switchon” have alsomade a foray at Dilli Haat and were an instant hit. Creating and sustaining self-help groups without a business plan is a tall order, volunteers of NGO Himalayan Action Research (HARC) motivated the rural women of Ranwain and Kaleshwar villages to utilize locally available resources for generating income. Self-help and smaller thrift groups were already engaged in small activities. The task at hand was to organise them for a major initiative that would not only bring them financial gains, but also help rural women gain experience in working in larger groups. “Most of these women were not shy of taking risk and required only institutional support. Before the initiative, the HARC conducted an evaluation exercise with various groups in Rawain and Kaleshwar to assess the financial status and management skills of self-help groups,” said Chaya Kunwar, senior programme coordinator. At the end of the exercise, 22 women groups were selected for group-level orientation. The orientation was aimed at building risk-taking capacity of women. “The women members were told about the benefits of an activity, if managed collectively and systematically. As we went about imparting training, the women began to gain confidence and exhibit their ability to take chances, thereby increasing their confidence and earnings. Processing units were set up at convenient and accessible places,” said Ganesh Uniyal, technical trainer. The total turnover of the group in the year 2008-09 was Rs 10,97,628. Initially, a single group started making pickle. Each woman managed to rake in a net profit of Rs 500 in the first round of production. “I was the first one to start garlic pickle production here. Now, I regularly go to the HARC unit and train other women,” said Mohini Devi. A master trainer, her capacities are so developed that she now provides training to other group members. Mohini is a member of a cooperative and resident of Dhari village in Naugaon block. During orientation programmes for developing micro enterprise at Dhari village she was the one who initiated the activity. She motivated other members of the group for starting income-generation activities. The movement has now grown and several self-help groups are now marketing their products. Siddhant, a self-help group managed to transact a sale of Rs 50,000 in the last seven months through the sale of jams and jellies. “We are happy with the sale of our products, we are now reaping the fruit of our labour. Several fruits are grown in our area, but it is only now that we diversified,” said Muni Dimri, member of the group. The activity is self-sustaining; the products that are being produced by them have so far got a good response at the local market. “We did not face any difficulty in marketing our products as most of our pickles and jams get sold in the local market. Whatever extra is made is then offloaded to nearby markets and then carried to Dehradun and other major cities. “We are aiming big in the future and plan to take up other activities. I have found a new purpose in life. “As soon as I complete my domestic chores, I am off to the processing unit,” said Usha Semalti, treasurer, Ekta Thrift Society, Langasu village. The new option is helping women earn cash and not be completely dependent on their husbands for economic security. “Now, I can confidently plan for the education of my children; my purchasing power too has increased. “I am more confident and willing to be part of another micro enterprise,” said Shakuntala of Durga Sahitya Samooh, a self-self group.
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Two years on, no state funds to protect women
Dehradun, March 22 To make the implementation of the law effective, 12 states in the country have made budgetary allocations but the Uttarakhand government has failed to do so and this is hampering the functioning of the committees. The lack of seriousness is reflected in the appointments of protection officers. "Such is the state of affairs at the committees that district programme officers have been entrusted with the additional responsibility of protection officers," said Ravi Jena, convener of Jago Rey Abhiyan, Mahila Samakhya, Uttarakhand. "No protection officer is full-time. They are being forced to play a dual role. How can they do justice to their jobs? In the absence of budgetary allocations, the work on shelter homes has not moved forward," said Jena. After the passage of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) 2005 that came into force in 2006, the government has made little progress in strengthening the committees after their creation in 13 districts and they remain a mere formality. These committees headed by the protection officer were aimed at facilitation of lodging complaints of women and have been constituted in all districts. Since the inception of the committee in 2007, 267 cases have been disposed (filed in courts) in Dehradun. As many as 61 cases were through applications and 35 through helpline. “On a single day, we receive 8-10 cases. These complaints are from all sections of society. The problem is endemic in the state,” said Ramindiri Mandarwal, protection officer, Dehradun district. However, women activists said that the government has hardly taken any steps to generate awareness in rural areas. "No campaigns have been launched to generate awareness about the setting-up of committees as envisaged in the Act. There is a general perception that the Act is anti-men and is aimed at breaking families. We need to dispel the myth," said Geeta Gairola, state project director, Mahila Samakhya, Uttarakhand. She said that the creation of committees at the district level is proving to be a big hindrance for women living in the rural areas in the state as most of them have never visited the district headquarters. "It would have been better if the committees were created at the block level to facilitate accessibility," added Gairola.
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Towards a picture perfect look
Dehradun, March 22 “Our main purpose behind organising the camp is to educate people regarding the benefits of these treatments, and help them avail these facilities in their own city,” said Dr. Jyoti Malik, dermatologist at Kutiz clinic. Laser technique has proved a great deal of help to people who are troubled with excessive hair growth on face and other parts of the body. Treatments like botox and filler are opted to remove facial wrinkles within a short span. “People are opting for botox and filler because they have heard celebrities taking benefits of these beauty treatments. We are providing Non-Ablative Erbiyium Glass Laser, which is a non surgical treatment and is excellent for problems related to acne, chicken-pox, stretch marks or any post trauma mark,” said Dr. Jyoti Malik. Botox and dermal filler work on the same pattern. While in botox dynamic lines (wrinkles) particularly in the upper part of the face are treated, in filler laughing lines or the static lines are treated. Presently, this is one of the best treatments to cure facial wrinkles without pain and much of post care. “Look younger in minutes, is what botox and filler treatments are all about. Our main purpose behind organising this camp is to aware people and dispel their fear regarding these treatments,” said Dr. Rohit, a laser surgeon. These treatments take only 10 to 15 minutes and are done with the help of injections. Where botox costs Rs. 7,000 to 10,000, filler costs Rs. 15,000 to 18,000. “While in botox we use purified protein derative and inject it on face. In filler we follow the same procedure with a gel-based substance, which is relatively painless and feels like an ant bite. Where the effect of botox lasts for six months, filler stays for an year,” said Dr. Rohit. “More then the expenses people feel scared about the injections. We want them to know that they are painless and in worst cases it only turns skin red for few minutes,” said Jyoti Malik. “As far as safety is concerned, not only women, men and even doctors are getting it done. Moreover, people who can’t afford it should follow proper eating habits, and avoid stress and use sunscreen regularly for a healthy skin,” said Dr. Rohit.
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Ignorance axes eco efforts
Mussoorie, March 22 The approach road to Clouds End Resorts is being repaired and it was found today that the contractors were cutting down the bushes of Kingod from the nearby forests and using them to cover the newly constructed road. “We are cutting Kingod because its thorny bushes would prevent anyone from walking on the newly laid road,” said a Nepali labourer, working at the site. It was appalling to see huge quantities of this rare species paved on about 500 mts of road while remnants of bushes felled earlier were lying at the sides of the road constructed a few days ago. The Tribune brought this matter to the notice of DFO, Mussoorie forest division. The DFO, AK Banerjee has taken a serious note of this and has issued directions to immediately file a case against the offenders and take strict action. The three varieties of Kingod grow in this region namely, Berberis lycium, Berberis chitria and Berberis aristata and the latter is listed as endangered species by the IUCN. Various parts of this plant, including leaves, bark and roots are used for medicinal purposes. However, the roots are used to make a medicine (locally referred to as ‘daruhaldi’), which cures various ailments. While considering the medicinal properties of the plant the extraction and trade of the roots of Kingod is banned by the forest department. However, Banerjee said the loopholes in the law allow people to get away with the extraction of the stem and leaves. “Since this is a bush therefore it is not covered under the Tree Protection Act which leaves scope for cutting of stems,” Banerjee said. “However, we do not encourage such issues and never take this lightly,” he added. Banerjee also said a nursery of Kingod has also developed under his division and the seedlings are being planted below power-transmission lines.
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Sweet shops enter choco business
Dehradun, March 22 Apart from serving traditional
bakery items and sweets, this change is a big hit in spite of being expensive as compared to other branded
chocolates available in the market. “With the demand for cakes and butter pista biscuits, our chocolates are also doing a great business. We strictly follow the instructions of our specialized chef and also give
interesting shapes to our chocolates. Dark and white chocolate are available for Rs. 600 per kg,” said Gaurav Sachdev of Ellora Bakeries. “Whenever I need to gift chocolates to my friends, I purchase them from Elloras, as they are so delicious,” said Surbhi, a student. Recently, the famous Bengali sweets in the city came up with their own brand of chocolates called Chococlicks and the brand is doing a good in a short period of time. “We add raisins, almonds and cashew nuts in our chocolates and they cost Rs. 700 a kg. We have added a new flavour ‘Dark Bar’, a dark chocolate, with 40 per cent cocoa for those who love bitter taste in chocolates,” said NN Badoni, owner Bengali Sweets. Butter toffees known as ‘Stick Jaws’ are also pretty popular in the city. “ From past 25 years we are making Stick Jaws and over these many years the response in the city and out has been outstanding,” said Gaurav Sachdev of Kwality shop. “We make stick jaws in plain vanilla and chocolate flavours and it costs Rs 300 a kg,” said DK Gulati of
Nany Bakeries.
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Dehradun, March 22
Dehradun, March 22
