Bi-Cycle Revolution in Bihar
Three years ago the Bihar government launched the Mukhyamantri Ballika Cycle Yojana –the chief minister’s cycle scheme for girls. The plan entitled girls in class –IX and X to a free cycle from the state or Rs 2000 to buy one where the girl child has traditionally received discrimination at all levels.
Since 2007-2008 Bihar has spent Rs 175 crores on cycles for 871,000 school girls. Following this, the scheme had a dramatic impact with girls enrolling in schools in the state shot up from 160,000 in 2006-07 to 490,000 now. Dropouts among girls declined to 1 million from about 2.5 million in 2006.
The plan has acted as an instrument of change as the cycles have bridged distances to schools and secondly have given girls in a largely patriarchal society a sense of independence and purpose. The girls are now keen to pursue careers and have become much more confident of their abilities. Khushboo Kumari a beneficiary of the cycle scheme from Bagaun village in Katihar district came second in her class X exams. Another girl Priyanka Kumari of Khoksa Kalyani village now pedals 8km daily to her school. According to these girls the scheme has really motivated the rural girls and developed a sense of competitiveness.
The 974,000 students who appeared for the state board’s class 10 exams, 400,000 were girls. Of these 75,136 got a first class more than double last year’s 37,708.Each of these girls are entitled to Rs 10,000.
Since 2007-2008 Bihar has spent Rs 175 crores on cycles for 871,000 school girls. Following this, the scheme had a dramatic impact with girls enrolling in schools in the state shot up from 160,000 in 2006-07 to 490,000 now. Dropouts among girls declined to 1 million from about 2.5 million in 2006.
The plan has acted as an instrument of change as the cycles have bridged distances to schools and secondly have given girls in a largely patriarchal society a sense of independence and purpose. The girls are now keen to pursue careers and have become much more confident of their abilities. Khushboo Kumari a beneficiary of the cycle scheme from Bagaun village in Katihar district came second in her class X exams. Another girl Priyanka Kumari of Khoksa Kalyani village now pedals 8km daily to her school. According to these girls the scheme has really motivated the rural girls and developed a sense of competitiveness.
The 974,000 students who appeared for the state board’s class 10 exams, 400,000 were girls. Of these 75,136 got a first class more than double last year’s 37,708.Each of these girls are entitled to Rs 10,000.
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According to a study done by Asian Development Bank in 2009,an estimated 600 million people have no access to toilets in India.It may be the world’s second fastest growing economy but there are 122 million households in India with no toilets according to UNICEF.
With a little help from Central Govt and state govt, more than 850 villages in Haryana have written a new success story in sanitation drive. With a budget of Rs 181 crore,the campaign in Haryana is one of India’s successes producing 1.6 million toilets. The target is for 1.9 million. The 11 year old Total Sanitation Programme is one of the nine flagship programmes of the UPA government jointly funded by the centre, states and the panchayats. The sanitation scheme is limited to families below the poverty line and includes community toilets for schools, anganwadis and community complexes for women. The idea is to make rural India a cleaner, healthier place with toilets for everyone by 2010. The main requirement is to involve local government to push for change. The programme needed behavioural change for the success of the sanitation drive.
About 800 gram panchayats have now applied for the 2009 sanitation award in addition to the 859 that already have it. In Kisangarh women do not go out for defecation after sunset. There is hardly any house in the village which does not have a pucca toilet. In another village of Dhola Majra,the panchayat has built community toilets for those who don’t have their own. Since no village has a sewer system they dig pits up to 35 feet deep and connect them to septic tanks. The campaign has changed the lives of people there.
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Haryana’s Sanitation Drive’s Success Story
According to a study done by Asian Development Bank in 2009,an estimated 600 million people have no access to toilets in India.It may be the world’s second fastest growing economy but there are 122 million households in India with no toilets according to UNICEF.
With a little help from Central Govt and state govt, more than 850 villages in Haryana have written a new success story in sanitation drive. With a budget of Rs 181 crore,the campaign in Haryana is one of India’s successes producing 1.6 million toilets. The target is for 1.9 million. The 11 year old Total Sanitation Programme is one of the nine flagship programmes of the UPA government jointly funded by the centre, states and the panchayats. The sanitation scheme is limited to families below the poverty line and includes community toilets for schools, anganwadis and community complexes for women. The idea is to make rural India a cleaner, healthier place with toilets for everyone by 2010. The main requirement is to involve local government to push for change. The programme needed behavioural change for the success of the sanitation drive.
About 800 gram panchayats have now applied for the 2009 sanitation award in addition to the 859 that already have it. In Kisangarh women do not go out for defecation after sunset. There is hardly any house in the village which does not have a pucca toilet. In another village of Dhola Majra,the panchayat has built community toilets for those who don’t have their own. Since no village has a sewer system they dig pits up to 35 feet deep and connect them to septic tanks. The campaign has changed the lives of people there.
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