Aparna Marandi from Pritand block of Giridih district in Jharkhand is telling us that there was no rain in the block this year so far and farmers have not even started rice transplanting and are very worried. She says in this block there is no irrigation facility and people migrate in search of work after 5/6 months which agriculture can sustain them. But in future if government created ponds and wells and made sure people get irrigation from these facilities then they can get two crops and they will not have to migrate. For more Aparna ji can be reached to 09771949885

Rajim Ketwas from Pithora in Chhattisgarh is telling us about their experience with Swara. She says we are using Swara from last 2 years and today I would like to share the positive results we have had so far. Many people in our area had not got their NREGA wages for months. After reporting on Swara they got the wages within a week. We also stopped some fraud in the scheme after reporting. In some villages there was corruption in Public Distribution system and people who did not pay bribes were not given subsidized ration for months. After villagers told their story on Swara, newspaper people helped us and people got BPL cards and ration within a week. Forest Rights act was not getting implemented properly in this area and when we spoke about it on Swara we got a call from Chief Secretary of the state the next day and higher forest oficials visited and we got our rights under FRA very soon. Swara is a democratic medium of ours and I will request all of us to use it as we have done here, that is the reason I am telling our story today. For more Rajim ji can be reached at 09424215854

Aparna Marandi from Giridih district of Jharkhand says in her village last year under NREGA work had started for making two ponds but after a year both remain incomplete and are not giving any help to any one. She says this is another example of faulty development projects. In future there should be rigorous checks in development works and the planning should be such that it helps maximum people. In this case the ponds should have been dug in a place where water can hold and there should also be a pump for taking water to farmer’s field. For more Aparna ji can be reached at 09771949885

Aparna Marandi from Giridih district of Jharkhand is telling us that monsoon has arrived long back but the health department is yet to wake up. Due to monsoon dirty water is getting filled up in wells and ponds. People are forced to drink the same dirty water and are getting diarrohea and malaria. She is requesting the state health department to send bleaching powder and spray DDT as they used to do before asap. For more Aparna ji can be reached at 09771949885

A caller from Mandu block in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand is telling us about precarious situation of a village which has come inside the boundary walls of a factory and the villagers are dependent on the factory guards for going out or inside. The company has bought most of the land with the help of brokers and some have sold their land in Rs 700 per acre. No one has got any job in the factory and many have not got proper compensation. They have started an agitation from a month but not many are listening. For more the caller can be reached at 09279765066