Street plays and wall paintings in Chandrapur urge water saving and registration of women farmers

Street plays are being staged in villages across Chandrapur district. The awareness campaign is being run by the Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal (MAVIM), Chandrapur. It has two aims. One is to explain the importance of water conservation to deal with the water shortage. The other is to get women who work on farms recognised by the government as "farmers", so that they can benefit from government schemes.

The district has received less rain this year, creating drought-like conditions and a water shortage. It has become essential to protect existing water sources and use water sparingly. In view of this, members of the Lokasanchalit Sadhan Kendra (LRC) and women's self-help groups working under MAVIM have taken the initiative.

The campaign is being run under the "Navatejaswini Maharashtra Gramin Mahila Udyam Vikas" initiative. Members of the women's self-help groups are performing street plays at the main square of the village, the weekly market and the gram panchayat premises. The message is also being taken to people through attractive paintings on village walls. The plays are getting a good response from villagers.

The plays speak about stopping the wastage of water in daily life, harvesting rainwater and letting it seep into the ground, adopting drip and sprinkler irrigation in farming, and managing water properly during drought. Through the local dialect, witty dialogue and effective acting, the message of saving water and conserving it is being carried to the hearts of villagers.

The campaign puts special emphasis on the registration of women as farmers. Women contribute greatly at every stage of farming, from sowing to harvesting. But because they are not recorded as farmers in government records, many women miss out on the benefits of government schemes. Women are being told that if they complete the registration process with the required documents, it will be easier for them to avail of agricultural schemes, subsidies on seeds and fertiliser, crop insurance, agricultural loans and opportunities in farming-related businesses.

Taluka coordinators of MAVIM, sahayogini, community resource persons (CRP), village representatives, gram panchayat office-bearers, and presidents and secretaries of women's self-help groups are taking part in the campaign, along with a large number of villagers. The aim of the initiative is to conserve water by increasing people's participation during drought and to inform women farmers of their entitlements. The initiative is proving quite important in rural areas.