Reflections from the Field – Dokhandpur Village, Puri District

Dear Members,

Our field visit to 'Dokhandpur' a coastal village of Puri District, Odisha, gave us first-hand knowledge about the problems being faced by the villagers.

 

The changes that have taken place in the argo-climatic situation in the last 2-3 decades here are adversely affected their livelihoods as well as their basic sustenance.   Frequent floods and prolonged water logging conditions have wreaked havoc in their lives, with non-availability of clean drinking water and resultant health problems;  it has also threatened their food security.

 

It seems that this grave situation has caused despair and hopelessness among these villagers. Most of the men consume Ganjha (cannabis) and idle away their time as they seem to have lost the motivation to strive for a better life. Many able-bodied young men have migrated out to take up other occupations; consequently, women and children have been left behind to suffer double hardships. Widows and orphans as well as those without migrated husband or father have to live in the polluted and difficult surroundings. This adverse environment has increased the hardships of women in collecting the basic necessities of drinking water, food, health and hygiene of the family members.

 

Women expressed that all this made their position even weaker in the strongly patriarchal family system. In Dokhandpur, UNDP led interventions including provision of clean filtered drinking water within the village saves the women from the drudgery of collecting drinking water from far off sources ; it has also saved them the expenditure on medical treatment of many water borne diseases specially among their children due to the use of contaminated water till last year. Most of these women now express readiness to take up alternate livelihood to generate their own cash income.

 

I am looking forward to my field visit tomorrow to yet another village in Puri District faced with similar problems of waterlogging.

 

Best wishes,
Dr Angeli Qwatra, Chairperson, Philanthrope