The Report - North 24 Parganas

have enough fish to sell as well as consume. He has never got any help from theGovernment regarding fisher lings, he says.Sardar had never applied for any loans and had never thought of any loanseither. “Look,” Laxmans says, “My father never believed in all this loan businessand was always afraid to go for them. Similarly we too don’t go on that patheither.” When asked whether he has ever thought of anything a little bigger likestarting a business, Sardar replies after some thought that he has never thoughtabout it ever.Electricity has not yet reached this remote part of the Sunderbans and Sardar,like many of his contemporaries feel that it would be a dream come true ifelectricity was provided for the village. There is a school and college run by thegovernment there but at least one more is required, says Laxman. Drinking watersupply used to be a big problem before but now the Government is providingwith fresh drinking water to the villagers.In conclusion it can be said that the NREGA Project has brought a slight wave ofchange in the lives of people like Laxman Sardar. The point to be noted here isthe fact that the money takes a lot of time reaching the beneficiaries as long asa month and a half and the interim period becomes a problem for the dailywagers like Laxman. The money should reach the beneficiaries in a much shorterspan of time.It is also to be noted that the gap between one lot of job and another is againvery long, which consequently is not profitable for the beneficiaries as the interimperiod becomes difficult to fend for.The area also requires qualified doctors so that poor people like the STcommunity do not have to go all the way to Kolkata just to be rejected lifesaving treatment on the plea of lack of dates.