The Report - North 24 Parganas

was continuous family feuds and Jogonnath was forced to go to Kolkata andresided there for sometime.The pond that has been dug on Mondal’s fifteen kathas of land was done in themonth of ‘jaistha’ and after that due to the monsoons he has not been able tosow any seeds anywhere on his small plot. Mondal has plans to plant the ‘boro’rice in a neighbour’s adjacent field and is awaiting his permission. If he is allowedthen he would be able to use the water from his own newly dug pond andwould also be able to sell the few ‘bhetki’ fish that are growing in it.He does not have a job card and as he had gone out of station at the time, hehad been unable to work under the Project. When he returned he heard that hehad been allotted thirteen thousand and five hundred rupees for his pond. Hecontacted the other villagers who had job cards and the pond was then dug.He himself helped the labourers a little but had got no money for it as he did notdig the soil himself. The supervisor had to be paid about four or five hundredrupees.Mondal regrets that he had spoken with the Panchayat Pradhan whether hewould be able to get any carpenter’s job but the Panchayat gave a carpenter’stool box to someone who according to Mondal, does not even know how tohold the tools. However he does agree that the hundred days work is proving tobe very helpful. He says that the payment for the work done under the NREGAProject comes in late and if people go to the Panchayat to ask more than oncewhen the payment would come, then they are spoken to roughly and senthome. That is another reason why people prefer going out of the village thanworking under the NREGA Project.Mondal’s sons send him some money from time to time out of which he is tryingto save some amount for his son’s marriages. “I must make them settle down andto do that I need money,” he says and adds, “I don’t have any savings at all so Itry to put by all I can from what my children send me.” He says that he has plansto buy a pump that would help him to husk rice as well as water his plants if hegets that opportunity.Jogonnath has never taken a loan from anywhere. He mentions that neither henor his wife had ever gotten to know how a woman’s self help group works andtherefore had never been able to get the opportunity of taking loans from thatfront.He does however has to borrow small amounts from friends and neighbourswhen either he or his wife requires a doctor’s treatment but then he is able toreturn them soon enough.