For Dezi Guleria Toppo of Supa Mahua village of Gumla district and lalita Bara from Sabano village, latehar concern is their non-functional Self-Help Groups. The programme launched for making the destitute women self-reliant and being promulgated by the Government with much fanfare has failed to churn anything substantial into their lives. The pain was flushing out when they and seven others came visiting the Assembly on Monday.
"It is okay that things are getting discussed with intensity here but I feel bad when nothing much changes at ground level, at our villages. It would be good and more productive if things get in place at local level," says Toppo with some hesitation as if she fears something untoward may happen if spoken like that inside the Assembly campus.
She and other women of the village run the 'Gulab Self-Help Group' and plan some kind of financial empowerment for the likes of her. "But we have not been able to get funding and assistance from the local level agencies to start the SHG. Unless we get some guidance and promotion how we can do anything," asked the barely literate.
lalita Bara is an intermediate pass woman whose husband is a CRPF man. She may be well off but thousands of others from the area latehar, notorious for Naxal activities, are countering acute poverty along side. "If problems of the area and related to the issues concerning poor are discussed here then it is good thing. This can solve some of the issues of ours. But what I think major changes and reforms are the need of the hour and that has to be done sooner to get rid of Naxalism. They are also doing this in their own way," added lalita while setting execution as prime concern and not the way it is being executed.
"They think change can be brought only through gun. What can we doIJ We can negate the idea only by bettering the other way and proving it as one more deliverable," she said after witnessing the proceeding from the coveted visitors' box.
The group of nine whose trip was made possible by an NGO 'Citizens Foundation' later also walked up to Speaker Dinesh Oraon chamber and exchanged their ideas with him. The impressed Speaker said, "There are certain provisions for SHGs and their grading. The Government needs to support the groups in better manner. I will do whatever can be done from here to pull up the system and Government machinery so that it can be more responsive to their problem."
There was a sense of satisfaction on their faces when the flock left the House. "We have seen local level governance at villages along with the one governed by them (naxals) and now the highest decision making body. What I feel that idea behind is the same everywhere however ways may be different. We are concerned about the change at local level in real terms," ends Sarita Toppo, another in the group.