The Report - North 24 Parganas

he had asked the Panchayat what they did with the money they told him that itwould be used to dig someone else’s pond.Santosh says that he has been able to get some pumpkins, ‘saak’, brinjals, bittergourd, radish and other vegetables apart from some fish from the pond, after itwas dug. It has helped him in a small way. The pond is over just two and a halfkathas, says Santosh Sardar and it is not enough to enable him to start a businessin fishery. He says that the pond is too shallow and does not hold water in the‘chaitra-jaistha’ months. It is only about six or seven feet deep and thereforedries up and therefore he cannot think of the business in fisheries. But it is enoughto provide the family with some fish and vegetables which otherwise would beexpensive to buy from the market.“We are poor people and cannot afford to buy good quality rice seeds whichcould yield in ten or twelve sacks of rice. That could have lasted the family ayear’s rice supply but with what we have we get six or seven sacks only,” saysSantosh Sardar.Santosh Sardar is old now and is not fit enough to do the hard labour required byjob card holders. His wife is diabetic and is alive on medicines and thereforeunable to do any heavy work. Santosh did work for three or four days on someother job assigned to him but not on his own pond. He however is positive that hissituation his improved ever so slightly in the way that he has enough food for thefamily now.Santosh had to give his land in mortgage for a few thousand rupees when hiswife fell ill. He hopes to be able to repay it soon. He has borrowed the money inthe hope that his sons would help him repay the loan. In fact the people, whohave lent him the amount, did so knowing that he has two young sons and thatthey would get their money back.Santosh Sardar’s wife has joined a local women’s Self Help Group and has beenable to get a loan of ten thousand rupees to build the cemented house. She hasreturned the amount with the help of her sons and has again borrowed fivethousand rupees to build the asbestos roof for the house. Once that loan isreturned, then maybe, if possible they would try and get doors and windows forthe house.Santosh Sardar is of the opinion that the NREGA Project has done a lot of goodfor the villagers of Bispur. “It would have been impossible for us to have theponds dug in our lands without the Project,” he says and adds, “now at least thepoor can eat fish and vegetables for at least six months of the year.”