Dear Friends,
Greetings from Bihar Development Trust!
We have completed nine months of existence as organisation. It has received tremendous support from all of you since our inception as BIHAR DEVELOPMENT TRUST on March 26, 2007.
It has been a very interesting journey full of challenges like walking on glass edge. Our agenda is to build a most transparent organisation in the world where nothing is hidden. In doing this, I need constant criticisms, suggestions for improving our transparency level. Governance is very important aspect of it. We would like few of you who can and have inclination to take active role in BDT act as a catalyst of growth of BDT. It will mean visiting our operations, suggestions for improvement, raising finances and spreading the words of our work to the outer world to more people in your network in individual capacity. We want to build a world class institution which people should look up to. I am dreaming big but only after dreaming, you can wake up and execute your dreams. As Sony Akio Morita said ‘flawless execution is the key”. In our quest to build a world best organisation which improves the quality of life (health, education, financial condition) of millions of people who dream of living life with dignity and respect, we need support from all of you. We need support as idea level and execution level. We are on right track and need to go on till we achieve our goal.
I have put the goal on our website wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
ww.bihardev.pbwiki.com.
We do have abstract goal of achieving dignity and respect. But to put on paper, I have dreamt of building a US$20 billion (may be euro as $ is going down) enterprise in Bihar by 2020. The areas of opportunities are very common ideas like microfinance, handloom and handicrafts, fruits and vegetable, Agricultural commodities, health care and education, power and rural BPO and tourism etc as we have no innovative ideas. We believe in executing those things in Bihar which many big companies finds unable to do it.
Management people who have read the JIM COLLINS ‘BUILT TO LAST’’ may classify as BHAG ie big hairy audacious goal. Yes, we are dreaming big. The 20 billion dollar wealth will be created in partnership of 5 million people being associated with us. We hope to add 5 million people with us by year 2020 as producers/users of our service at Bihar. For that we may have to float different forms or organizations like producer companies, cooperatives, trust, societies, private ltd companies, NBFC, Banks or many more economic and legal entities which are best suitable to take the advantage of globalization as well as localization and most cost efficient.
The idea is to adapt GRAMEEN and AMUL model to Bihar context in different services and commodities supported by most efficient technologies.
So to reach the 20 billion dollar/euro goal by 2020 in Bihar, I need support of all of you. For some of you, it may seem figment of imagination by a young people and young organisation which have not yet crossed one year of survival. To be frank, we don’t know how we achieve this ‘LAKSHYA’ or goal but we will achieve it. There are many skeptical of achieving this goal, given the crime ridden scenario that the people not living in Bihar feel more. Crime has been there and will always be there as it is in Mumbai, Delhi or NewYork. But, it has not stopped the people making billions in those cities. So I feel few of the next new generation billionaire will come from Bihar along with other states.
Many people feel that talking so audaciously and big, we may invite the fate of Sanjay Ghosh or Manjunath or Sateyendra Dubey . How to avoid that fate is a challenge that we may face when we grow big. This question has no answers but we feel that we are not fighting against anyone. The solution may be creating a win-win scenario in which every stakeholder’s benefits. We will work it out when the situation will arrive.
What is our self interest in doing this? Obviously we will also be making our billions. Only different thing is that it will benefit more than 5 million people or may be more and they will have more money in their pockets if we surpass our dreams.
Over last one year during my extensive travels, many people have wished me luck as well as not advised to get trapped in Bihar.
But the feeling or adrenalin rush that you feel while talking to the community, explaining our loan products or training our staff members or explaining people why you should join us beats everything that may give pleasure or anything else that money can buy. And master card is for those things. These are one of the things that MasterCard will not buy. I need people with MasterCard to support us and join us in the field to derive that pleasure. One more business opportunities that may be development tourism that is give a chance to MasterCard holder to work like a social worker or activist for a day in exchange of dollars/Euros.
So, why the mails was written to all of you? We have a work to do that is very important for the India and the whole world. I send 3000 mails per week and It will go on increasing as I met new people and gather new mail ids.
The mail has been written to all of you to help me in making Bihar Development Trust as a world class organisation. For which I need people who shares the similar ownership feelings towards Bihar Development Trust and believe in the dreams as articulated by it. I would like their help in improving governance, transparency and accountability to all stakeholders. The good practice of running an organisation so that it outlasts the longest running organisation of this millennium needs to be instituted right now. We are raw and we have still not learned the art of hiding as we have nothing to hide right now. But we feel that we need to be alert and vigilant right now so that we are not quagmire by the corruption that prevails in every big organisation. We want to account for every amount we get and pay and make billions in a transparent manner. So that you all can say that we achieved 20 billion dollar dream and you know how we achieved it.
Can anyone among the thousands who have read till this end will come forward to achieve that?
Regards
Ravi Chandra
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (BRPNN)
Constitution and Objectives
Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (BRPNN) was formed on 11th June, 1975 under Indian Company Act, 1956 as a Govt. Company.
Its main objectives are -
Construction of Bridges/Roads
Maintenance of Bridges
Toll Collection
The Nigam is registered as a Public Company under Indian Company Act, 1956 and it is a Govt. Company as total share capital of Rs. 500 Lakhs is pledged in the name of Governor of Bihar. The Nigam is governed by Managing Director on behalf of Board of Directors nominated by the Govt. under guidelines set by Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association along with work rules mentioned therein.
Concept of Working
Bridges are constructed departmentally by the Nigam on the basis of current Schedule of Rates (SoR) sanctioned for Works Department. As the work is done departmentally, cost incurred is less as compared to work done by contractors.
Works are taken up and got done departmentally by the Nigam following the rules established by State Govt. and directions/instructions issued from time to time by Technical Examination Cell of Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of Bihar.
Achievements - 2006-2007
A total of 98 projects (excluding Mukhya Mantri Setu Nirman Yojna) having sanctioned cost of Rs. 1,09,636.31 lacs have been entrusted to Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd. in 2006-07.
Details are as under:
Bridge Sector - (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)
SL Name No. of Projects Amount
1. Plan 45 58,090.77
2. Non-Plan 1 20.00
3. C.R.F. 2 404.06
4. A.C.F. 1 5,330.00
5. R.S.V.Y. 6 2,286.10
6. MP/MLA Development Fund 1 2.61
7. R.O.B.'s 11 20,376.00
Total 67 86,509.54
Road Sector - (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)
SL Name No. of Projects Amount
1. Plan 24 23,126.77
2. NABARD 2
3. B.A.D.P. 1
4. National Highways 4
Total 31 23,126.77
Achievements - 2006-2007
A total of 98 projects (excluding Mukhya Mantri Setu Nirman Yojna) having sanctioned cost of Rs. 1,09,636.31 lacs have been entrusted to Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd. in 2006-07.
Details are as under:
Bridge Sector - (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)
SL Name No. of Projects Amount
1. Plan 45 58,090.77
2. Non-Plan 1 20.00
3. C.R.F. 2 404.06
4. A.C.F. 1 5,330.00
5. R.S.V.Y. 6 2,286.10
6. MP/MLA Development Fund 1 2.61
7. R.O.B.'s 11 20,376.00
Total 67 86,509.54
Road Sector - (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)
SL Name No. of Projects Amount
1. Plan 24 23,126.77
2. NABARD 2
3. B.A.D.P. 1
4. National Highways 4
Total 31 23,126.77
Projects
On-Going Projects
SL Head No. of Projects
1. Plan Head 48
2. NABARD 1
3. Sam Vikas Yojna 8
4. Additional Central Assistance 2
5. Central Road Fund 12
6. MP/MLA Development Fund 2
7. Non-Plan Head 11
8. Bridge Development Fund 2
9. Central Road Fund (NH-107) 5
10. Based on cost sharing with Railway Ministry 22
Total 113
Completed Projects - commissioned during 2006-07 using Rs. 160 Crores
SL Head No. of Projects
1. Plan 10
2. Non-Plan 5
3. Central Road Fund 1
4. Additional Central Assistance 5
5. NABARD 12
6. B.A.D.P. 1
Total 34
Work Force
Posts of Chief Engineer to Junior Engineer of Engineering Cadre of Nigam are being held by officers on deputation from Road Construction Department of Govt. of Bihar. At present, working strength of Engineering Cadre is as follows:
SL Rank/Designation Sanctioned Strength Working Strength
1. Chief Engineer 1 1
2. Superintending Engineer 4 2
3. Executive Engineer 15 12
4. Assistant Engieer 42 42
5. Junior Engineer 102 65
Total 164 122
In other cadres, officers and staffs appointed by Nigam are working and their strength is as shown below:
SL Cadres Strength
1. Class-I (FA) 0
2. Class-II 4
3. Class-III 196
4. Class-IV 204
5. Work Charged Staff 120
Total 524
Source of Income
Two sources of income of Nigam are as follows:
Centage charges @ 12.5% on the sanctioned cost of projects.
Toll Collection
Registration of Contractors
Miscellaneous
In the field of toll collection, Nigam has collected a toll of Rs. 76.04 crores from 1975-76 to 2005-06. Out of this amount, Rs. 23.67 crores has been spent on completion of construction works of 17 projects, and Rs. 15.00 crores has been spent on different projects of other fields.
M.M.S.N.Y.
Mukhya Mantri Setu Nirman Yojna
MMSNY has been launched by Govt. of Bihar in 2006 with the objectives of -
Providing bridges to cover-up the un-bridged gaps in the entire state on any road.
Replacement of damaged timber and masonry bridges with RCC bridges.
Replacement of narrow (single lane) bridges with double lane RCC bridges.
Providing additional waterways on roads affected by flood.
For the year 2006-07, the details are as follows:
SL Bridge Type Nos. Cost in Lakhs
1. Screw Pile 137 Rs. 96,212.57
2. RCC Bridge (upto Rs. 50 Lakhs) 30
3. RCC Bridge (above Rs. 50 Lakhs) 360
Total 527
Rs. 201 Crores have been made available during 2006-07 and work is being executed on almost all the projects
Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (BRPNN) was formed on 11th June, 1975 under Indian Company Act, 1956 as a Govt. Company.
Its main objectives are -
Construction of Bridges/Roads
Maintenance of Bridges
Toll Collection
The Nigam is registered as a Public Company under Indian Company Act, 1956 and it is a Govt. Company as total share capital of Rs. 500 Lakhs is pledged in the name of Governor of Bihar. The Nigam is governed by Managing Director on behalf of Board of Directors nominated by the Govt. under guidelines set by Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association along with work rules mentioned therein.
Concept of Working
Bridges are constructed departmentally by the Nigam on the basis of current Schedule of Rates (SoR) sanctioned for Works Department. As the work is done departmentally, cost incurred is less as compared to work done by contractors.
Works are taken up and got done departmentally by the Nigam following the rules established by State Govt. and directions/instructions issued from time to time by Technical Examination Cell of Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of Bihar.
Achievements - 2006-2007
A total of 98 projects (excluding Mukhya Mantri Setu Nirman Yojna) having sanctioned cost of Rs. 1,09,636.31 lacs have been entrusted to Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd. in 2006-07.
Details are as under:
Bridge Sector - (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)
SL Name No. of Projects Amount
1. Plan 45 58,090.77
2. Non-Plan 1 20.00
3. C.R.F. 2 404.06
4. A.C.F. 1 5,330.00
5. R.S.V.Y. 6 2,286.10
6. MP/MLA Development Fund 1 2.61
7. R.O.B.'s 11 20,376.00
Total 67 86,509.54
Road Sector - (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)
SL Name No. of Projects Amount
1. Plan 24 23,126.77
2. NABARD 2
3. B.A.D.P. 1
4. National Highways 4
Total 31 23,126.77
Achievements - 2006-2007
A total of 98 projects (excluding Mukhya Mantri Setu Nirman Yojna) having sanctioned cost of Rs. 1,09,636.31 lacs have been entrusted to Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd. in 2006-07.
Details are as under:
Bridge Sector - (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)
SL Name No. of Projects Amount
1. Plan 45 58,090.77
2. Non-Plan 1 20.00
3. C.R.F. 2 404.06
4. A.C.F. 1 5,330.00
5. R.S.V.Y. 6 2,286.10
6. MP/MLA Development Fund 1 2.61
7. R.O.B.'s 11 20,376.00
Total 67 86,509.54
Road Sector - (Amount in Rs. Lakhs)
SL Name No. of Projects Amount
1. Plan 24 23,126.77
2. NABARD 2
3. B.A.D.P. 1
4. National Highways 4
Total 31 23,126.77
Projects
On-Going Projects
SL Head No. of Projects
1. Plan Head 48
2. NABARD 1
3. Sam Vikas Yojna 8
4. Additional Central Assistance 2
5. Central Road Fund 12
6. MP/MLA Development Fund 2
7. Non-Plan Head 11
8. Bridge Development Fund 2
9. Central Road Fund (NH-107) 5
10. Based on cost sharing with Railway Ministry 22
Total 113
Completed Projects - commissioned during 2006-07 using Rs. 160 Crores
SL Head No. of Projects
1. Plan 10
2. Non-Plan 5
3. Central Road Fund 1
4. Additional Central Assistance 5
5. NABARD 12
6. B.A.D.P. 1
Total 34
Work Force
Posts of Chief Engineer to Junior Engineer of Engineering Cadre of Nigam are being held by officers on deputation from Road Construction Department of Govt. of Bihar. At present, working strength of Engineering Cadre is as follows:
SL Rank/Designation Sanctioned Strength Working Strength
1. Chief Engineer 1 1
2. Superintending Engineer 4 2
3. Executive Engineer 15 12
4. Assistant Engieer 42 42
5. Junior Engineer 102 65
Total 164 122
In other cadres, officers and staffs appointed by Nigam are working and their strength is as shown below:
SL Cadres Strength
1. Class-I (FA) 0
2. Class-II 4
3. Class-III 196
4. Class-IV 204
5. Work Charged Staff 120
Total 524
Source of Income
Two sources of income of Nigam are as follows:
Centage charges @ 12.5% on the sanctioned cost of projects.
Toll Collection
Registration of Contractors
Miscellaneous
In the field of toll collection, Nigam has collected a toll of Rs. 76.04 crores from 1975-76 to 2005-06. Out of this amount, Rs. 23.67 crores has been spent on completion of construction works of 17 projects, and Rs. 15.00 crores has been spent on different projects of other fields.
M.M.S.N.Y.
Mukhya Mantri Setu Nirman Yojna
MMSNY has been launched by Govt. of Bihar in 2006 with the objectives of -
Providing bridges to cover-up the un-bridged gaps in the entire state on any road.
Replacement of damaged timber and masonry bridges with RCC bridges.
Replacement of narrow (single lane) bridges with double lane RCC bridges.
Providing additional waterways on roads affected by flood.
For the year 2006-07, the details are as follows:
SL Bridge Type Nos. Cost in Lakhs
1. Screw Pile 137 Rs. 96,212.57
2. RCC Bridge (upto Rs. 50 Lakhs) 30
3. RCC Bridge (above Rs. 50 Lakhs) 360
Total 527
Rs. 201 Crores have been made available during 2006-07 and work is being executed on almost all the projects
Roads-bihar and madra
Dear Friends,
I am in chennai for my father cataract operation.
For work related issue, I needed to travel to pondicheery from chennai.I boarded a government bus. Its an express on called ECR east coast road. Its a toll road . Two laned and crosses the back sea water at some place for small lengths. The distance is 150-160 km. I was amazed to know that the journey will take 3 hours only despite stopping to passenger to drop at regular places. It took exactly 3.30 hours to reach from chennai bus stand to pondycherri bus stand including 20 minutes lunch break.
why i m writing this. because i started form chennai at 12 noon , reached there 3.30 , finished my meeting by 6.30 pm and boarded the bus at 6.45 and was back home at 10 pm.roads are not best in chennai still its good.
I was able to travel 320 km in a day and finish my work also same day.
Can it be made possible in bihar. I was thinking while travelling. For me to travel bhagalpur, it takes 8 hours by train intercity express . it covers 234 km in 8 hours. I am told there are big potholes on bhagalpur-patna road due to flood and it is not repaired at all.
I was thinking about loss of working hours for travelling in bihar. to travel the same diatance, i have to provison for a night stay in bihar. we lose our precious time due to bad roads.
why i am saying this?
I have seen lots of construction in patna and other places. Most of it has suffered over run in cost and time. The chirayantannd bridge is still not complete. there is plans of flyover at meethapur,gardanibagh, danapur nahar ke upar etc. TANTIYA, GAMMON, IRCON are doing this. they are reputable company and still not able to finish on time.it puts a question mark.
Can someone file and RTI and find the status of these projects and well as golden quadrilateral status. I have seen 4 lane highway being built between mujaffarpur, kanti and driven for it. but it has suffered damage due to flood.
Regarding myself, I am willing to support despite my plate being full with work but can few of us will come along. The infrastructure is too important issue to be neglected. the money is there. we need to put will there also.
regards
Ravi Chandra
I am in chennai for my father cataract operation.
For work related issue, I needed to travel to pondicheery from chennai.I boarded a government bus. Its an express on called ECR east coast road. Its a toll road . Two laned and crosses the back sea water at some place for small lengths. The distance is 150-160 km. I was amazed to know that the journey will take 3 hours only despite stopping to passenger to drop at regular places. It took exactly 3.30 hours to reach from chennai bus stand to pondycherri bus stand including 20 minutes lunch break.
why i m writing this. because i started form chennai at 12 noon , reached there 3.30 , finished my meeting by 6.30 pm and boarded the bus at 6.45 and was back home at 10 pm.roads are not best in chennai still its good.
I was able to travel 320 km in a day and finish my work also same day.
Can it be made possible in bihar. I was thinking while travelling. For me to travel bhagalpur, it takes 8 hours by train intercity express . it covers 234 km in 8 hours. I am told there are big potholes on bhagalpur-patna road due to flood and it is not repaired at all.
I was thinking about loss of working hours for travelling in bihar. to travel the same diatance, i have to provison for a night stay in bihar. we lose our precious time due to bad roads.
why i am saying this?
I have seen lots of construction in patna and other places. Most of it has suffered over run in cost and time. The chirayantannd bridge is still not complete. there is plans of flyover at meethapur,gardanibagh, danapur nahar ke upar etc. TANTIYA, GAMMON, IRCON are doing this. they are reputable company and still not able to finish on time.it puts a question mark.
Can someone file and RTI and find the status of these projects and well as golden quadrilateral status. I have seen 4 lane highway being built between mujaffarpur, kanti and driven for it. but it has suffered damage due to flood.
Regarding myself, I am willing to support despite my plate being full with work but can few of us will come along. The infrastructure is too important issue to be neglected. the money is there. we need to put will there also.
regards
Ravi Chandra
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Missed oppurtunities -Bihar
dear friends,
i was travelling from mangalore to chennai by westcoast express. slept through the whole night. woke up around 10.30. as i sat with my mallu co passenger, we started chatting. when he came to know that i am working for bihar development and beleive that it will be true, he was amazed. he then narrated his story. he is a senior executive in sugar cane processing company based in kerala. they make sugar, ethonaol, power etc. their company was invited by our cheif minister nitish kumar to set up sugarcane processing plants. they were told that they can take over sick factories also. so the ceo send its scouting team. all people who make decision regarding investment visited bihar. GM, Technical guys, operations persons etc. Move in bihar for 2-3 months and come back with a decision not to invest. the 200 crore of investment oppurtunity was missed by bihar based on local people perception. the oppurtunity went to andhrapradesh where they are now in process of setting a green field cane factory with a captive powerplant.
bad infrastructure was not the reason for stepping back. they were familair with indian things that first u build then infrastucture will follow.
he said they spent around 30 lacs last year on scouting oppurtunities in bihar for starting cane processing and found the climate, sugar % , water supply etc favourable
when i asked why the company took the decision not to invest in bihar, they said locals. the locals scared them away. they extensively talked to people. they heard the stories of kidnapping for few previous factory workers and how the management had to pay for getting their employee back. they heard how senior politicians are involved in kidnapping trade.
I was thinking whether the positive response of locals would have changed the decison? what if local people knew that their investment would mean jobs for them atleast 1000s of people will get work as local labourer for one year atleast and many more. It would have benefited the cane farmers who are not getting their cane crushed due to sick and closed factories leave alone the payment part.
Can we think about ourselves being responsible glorifying the crime stories of Bihar?
Cant we deplore criminal bahaviour publically?
I was feeling very disappointed after hearing the whole story and vowed to make things better.
Can we come together and produce some successful economic model which results in econmic improvement of atleast 1000s of families?
i was travelling from mangalore to chennai by westcoast express. slept through the whole night. woke up around 10.30. as i sat with my mallu co passenger, we started chatting. when he came to know that i am working for bihar development and beleive that it will be true, he was amazed. he then narrated his story. he is a senior executive in sugar cane processing company based in kerala. they make sugar, ethonaol, power etc. their company was invited by our cheif minister nitish kumar to set up sugarcane processing plants. they were told that they can take over sick factories also. so the ceo send its scouting team. all people who make decision regarding investment visited bihar. GM, Technical guys, operations persons etc. Move in bihar for 2-3 months and come back with a decision not to invest. the 200 crore of investment oppurtunity was missed by bihar based on local people perception. the oppurtunity went to andhrapradesh where they are now in process of setting a green field cane factory with a captive powerplant.
bad infrastructure was not the reason for stepping back. they were familair with indian things that first u build then infrastucture will follow.
he said they spent around 30 lacs last year on scouting oppurtunities in bihar for starting cane processing and found the climate, sugar % , water supply etc favourable
when i asked why the company took the decision not to invest in bihar, they said locals. the locals scared them away. they extensively talked to people. they heard the stories of kidnapping for few previous factory workers and how the management had to pay for getting their employee back. they heard how senior politicians are involved in kidnapping trade.
I was thinking whether the positive response of locals would have changed the decison? what if local people knew that their investment would mean jobs for them atleast 1000s of people will get work as local labourer for one year atleast and many more. It would have benefited the cane farmers who are not getting their cane crushed due to sick and closed factories leave alone the payment part.
Can we think about ourselves being responsible glorifying the crime stories of Bihar?
Cant we deplore criminal bahaviour publically?
I was feeling very disappointed after hearing the whole story and vowed to make things better.
Can we come together and produce some successful economic model which results in econmic improvement of atleast 1000s of families?
Thursday, August 16, 2007
My experiences on flood relief
Dear Friends,
I would like to share my experiences that happened while distributing relief materials in a flood affected village.
We got three polythene rolls and 10000 chlorine tablets from our Bihari friends who are contributing with lion hearts for flood relief. We contributed a 150 food packets containing chura-gur to supplement the distribution effect. There is flood everywhere as you must be watching on your TV.
The question facing us was managing expectation as we had so little things to distribute. There were news of crowds rioting to get relief materials and reliefworkers getting injured in melee.Our material was just enough to help 50-60 families. We chose a village maksaspur, jagdishpur block in bhagalpur after moving around in the area. The roads are broken and villages are cut off.
How to reach the village was the next problem. We have to decide to wade through the waist deep water and walk against the current. The experience of walking through the water set off a thinking process in me. The land on which i was walking was a paddy field some days ago. People would have planted with great hopes despite flood problem. The land was now silted with sand of river. I was thinking about my relevance of education which took me through 5 years of dentistry in manipal and 2 year of rural management from IRMA. What could i do for them.I reached the village after being held by two people who prevented me from flowing with fast stream. The village was SC dominated. Most of them were malnourished. there was ususal fights regarding someone cornering more packets of food and who should get polythene sheets. But we managed somehow without getting beaten.I was thinking that distributing the things, we may have given some relief. I thought of health camps and livelihood support for them. But the real problems brought me down to earth from high pedestal with a loud thump in mind.
The villagers problem was to do shit every day. The land is flooded. So where do they go. There is no toilet in village. The solution was climbing on tree branches and shit while sitting there. these problems was even more embarrassing for women folk. For reaching the nearest roadside, you have to wade through the water in early morning daily.
I was thinking of all developmental debates that took place in IRMA. I could not imagine some one thinking of such problems. Let alone discussing it.
There is a pattern behind every recurring event and that pattern is due to some structural problem and systemic problem. The floods are recuring events every year in Bihar. there are 1000s of crore that govt spends every year with no accountability. Only the GOVT Officials or babu will know where the money went.
I corresponded with SDTT for flood relief. They warned me not to get into that process as a new set up. The subtext was that flood relief has been used by NGOs to siphon of money who survive whole year on it. So to save your reputation, do not get into it.
The questions is that we donot trust government. We do not trust civil society organisations. so who will give relief or work for betterment of people?
We are managing through Bihari network and its individuals who are coming forward to contribute their hard earned income for native land. But that amount may be good for few villages but not for a district.
So, if someone want to bring some changes at system level, it will require huge resources. These resources are owned by govt and UN agencies.
The question is how do we go forward on these kind of issues. Do we keep focussing on events only or systemic problems which cause this.Flood is just one of the issue.
The questions is for everyone who think.
The solution is known to everyone. The question is how the solutions will get implemented.
Can you help?
Regards
Dr Ravi Chandra
I would like to share my experiences that happened while distributing relief materials in a flood affected village.
We got three polythene rolls and 10000 chlorine tablets from our Bihari friends who are contributing with lion hearts for flood relief. We contributed a 150 food packets containing chura-gur to supplement the distribution effect. There is flood everywhere as you must be watching on your TV.
The question facing us was managing expectation as we had so little things to distribute. There were news of crowds rioting to get relief materials and reliefworkers getting injured in melee.Our material was just enough to help 50-60 families. We chose a village maksaspur, jagdishpur block in bhagalpur after moving around in the area. The roads are broken and villages are cut off.
How to reach the village was the next problem. We have to decide to wade through the waist deep water and walk against the current. The experience of walking through the water set off a thinking process in me. The land on which i was walking was a paddy field some days ago. People would have planted with great hopes despite flood problem. The land was now silted with sand of river. I was thinking about my relevance of education which took me through 5 years of dentistry in manipal and 2 year of rural management from IRMA. What could i do for them.I reached the village after being held by two people who prevented me from flowing with fast stream. The village was SC dominated. Most of them were malnourished. there was ususal fights regarding someone cornering more packets of food and who should get polythene sheets. But we managed somehow without getting beaten.I was thinking that distributing the things, we may have given some relief. I thought of health camps and livelihood support for them. But the real problems brought me down to earth from high pedestal with a loud thump in mind.
The villagers problem was to do shit every day. The land is flooded. So where do they go. There is no toilet in village. The solution was climbing on tree branches and shit while sitting there. these problems was even more embarrassing for women folk. For reaching the nearest roadside, you have to wade through the water in early morning daily.
I was thinking of all developmental debates that took place in IRMA. I could not imagine some one thinking of such problems. Let alone discussing it.
There is a pattern behind every recurring event and that pattern is due to some structural problem and systemic problem. The floods are recuring events every year in Bihar. there are 1000s of crore that govt spends every year with no accountability. Only the GOVT Officials or babu will know where the money went.
I corresponded with SDTT for flood relief. They warned me not to get into that process as a new set up. The subtext was that flood relief has been used by NGOs to siphon of money who survive whole year on it. So to save your reputation, do not get into it.
The questions is that we donot trust government. We do not trust civil society organisations. so who will give relief or work for betterment of people?
We are managing through Bihari network and its individuals who are coming forward to contribute their hard earned income for native land. But that amount may be good for few villages but not for a district.
So, if someone want to bring some changes at system level, it will require huge resources. These resources are owned by govt and UN agencies.
The question is how do we go forward on these kind of issues. Do we keep focussing on events only or systemic problems which cause this.Flood is just one of the issue.
The questions is for everyone who think.
The solution is known to everyone. The question is how the solutions will get implemented.
Can you help?
Regards
Dr Ravi Chandra
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