Renewable energy best option, says expert
Dehradun, April 26
Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Authority in assistance with University of Petroleum and Energy Studies yesterday organised a daylong workshop titled ‘Energy Auditors an Energy Managers.

‘We can’t shun political duties’
First-time voters studying in Dehradun colleges, see politicians as a dishonest lot who betray the people once elected to power. Their vote may or may not bring about the desired change, the students tell Tribune reporter Vishal Thakur

 

 

The milky way to success
There are a total of 420 women cooperatives in the state, generating 12,000 litres of milk per day and benefiting 15,239 women. The milk is sold at Rs 12 litre per day in the market. A single woman member earns Rs 1,044 per day
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 26
The Village Dairy Cooperative Movement in the state is a sure winner when it comes to empowering women. The movement, keyed to their needs, is proving an effective method in bringing about a turnaround in the fortunes of women who outnumber men is several districts.

Woman volunteers examine the quality of milk at one of the testing booths in Uttarakhand. Tribune photo: Anil P Rawat

The women, who till now had known no other occupation other than rearing animals in their backyard, are profiting from fruits of the white revolution.

It is the good old dairy farming that is helping women lead an economically sound life in the hill villages.

Learning from the experiences of Gujarat cooperatives, these dairies are on a firm foot.

The dairy cooperative movement was started in Garhwal and Kuamaon regions with the establishment of the Milk Production Cooperative Association at Haldwani in 1949. Later, Cooperative associations were set up in Almora and Dehradun in 1954 and 1955.

The movement then spread to Pithoragarh, Kotdwar, Tehri, Chamoli and Uttarkashi. But it all began in the nineties when focus shifted to engaging women in group activities along with developing animal husbandry and milk production as commercial activity.

A woman volunteer monitors cattle grazing in a field

There are a total of 420 women cooperatives in the state, generating 12,000 litres of milk per day and benefiting 15,239 women.

The milk is sold at the Rs 112 litre per day in the market.

“A single woman member earns around Rs 1,044 per day. At selected places, we have established outlets for collection of milk. In addition, there are several other economic activities in which women are engaged.

“The focus is on all-round development through capacity- building, imparting legal literacy and hygiene as well as imparting scientific methods in animal husbandry,” explained additional director, Mahila Dairy, Almora.

Besides strengthening their positions at home, the women now see themselves being wooed by political parties to enlist their support for political activities.

“Now I realise what the number game is all about and the strength of our groups. Numbers do add up giving us social cohesion,” said Vimla Devi, a member of the Mahila Dairy group, the main voice in her village in Almora.

The activities have enabled women to learn many things, acquire new skills, assert their rights and voice their concerns. Consequently, women have been able to build social capital and have gradually emerged as a political force.

In 2004, there were 766 mahila cooperatives with 29,881 woman members. As groups gained in strength, they were left to work independently. “The central government bears a major part of financesfor projects, leaving as little as 20 per cent for the state government.

“Groups are not permanently attached with us. After initial exposure and training, they are encouraged to function on their own. Allocations for each project varies roughly between Rs 3 crore and 2 crore,” said PS Kutiyal, director, dairy development.

Since woman members hail from rural areas, they are taught the tools in capacity-building that stands them in good stead.

During such exercises they are taught how to work effectively as a group and the benefits they can get, if the group is managed collectively and systematically.

“The rural women would also get a chance to show their capabilities and thus improve their confidence level and earning.

“Instead of the mushrooming self-help groups, the cooperative movement-based groups are better equipped to handle entrepreneurshi.

“Women beneficiaries not only get insurance cover for cattle but there is also a provision for getting the cattle vaccinated and get information about the right feeds that enhances milk productivity,” said AK Negi.

While in Garhwal the movement is gradually gaining ground, it is in the Kumaon region that the spread and reach has been impressive. The Terai regions of Nainital and Haldwani comprising Kala Doonga and Ramnagar are doing exceptionally well.

While the project is government funded, the aim is to make women independent in the true spirit of the cooperative movement.

However, the semi non-government nature of the groups has also been their undoing. For the time period that the women members are part of the Village Dairy Cooperative Project they are paid an honorarium. Last year the women had held protests and rallies demanding an increase in the honorarium that almost brought all activities to a standstill. The honorarium has now been raised from “Rs 4,500 per month to Rs 6,000.The functioning of the cooperatives is such that projects come and go, new ones are initiated and old ones rolled back.

“In the long run, the aim is to make women independent entrepreneurs running their dairies We are providing market to them and at the end of the day they have an assured income,” said Negi. 

Bond releases poetry book by 19-yr-old
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 26
A collection of poems titled “Interruptions”, written by 19-year-old student Shubhodeep Pal, was today released by eminent author Ruskin Bond. Pal has made the collection during a span of five years.

The book has been published Kolkata-based Writers Workshop, which has earlier published works by famous authors such as Vikram Seth, Nissim Ezekiel and Indrajit Hazra.

The poems are a compendium of a variety of emotions - love, longing, sadness, nostalgia, separation and even death - written in free verse, rhyme as well as Haiku, a Japanese form of poetry.

Pal is a product of St Joseph Academy, a local school here and is currently a second-year student at the Singapore Management Institute,

“As soon as I completed the book, I experienced mixed feelings. I had apprehensions about the future and response of people. However, after organising a select release in Singapore things got a little better,” said Pal

Meanwhile, sharing his views, Ruskin Bond said the trends in modern fiction writing are increasingly becoming receptive to the needs of the society; the barriers of language, culture and even expression have been torn asunder with the new surge in writing.

“Young writers now want to express themselves through books and I am all for the written word; the more the merrier,” he said. He said the growing breed of young writers is giving the readers’ food for thought, “It is ultimately the reader who benefits from all kinds of writings,” he added.

On the great felicity with which Indian writers are continuing to bag international prizes, Bond said: “Call it the legacy of the British education, English language has been adapted and reinvented here, no wonder it is the most sought after medium of expression. Indian expatriate writers took it to new heights. That they continue to write with Indian themes is because the umbilical cord cannot be snapped altogether; the shifts and turns that the country undergoes also concern them. They add a touch of objectivity when they purport to write about Indian conditions,,” he said.

However, he had a word of caution. “One has to be very sure while embarking on a writing career, as there are more opportunities now and equally more mediums vying for the attention of the reader. Ultimately, one should be able to strike an instant chord with the writer,” said Bond, who is still loyal to his Remington typewriter. 

Renewable energy best option, says expert
Tribune News Service

‘We can’t shun political duties’
First-time voters studying in Dehradun colleges, see politicians as a dishonest lot who betray the people once elected to power. Their vote may or may not bring about the desired change, the students tell Tribune reporter Vishal Thakur