Case Study I

Village: Mathupur
Block: Haringhata
District: Nadia
Nature of Benefit:Increase in average household income

Mathpur village lies in the Haringhata block of Nadia. The village has a total population of 1200 and is 12 Km away from the town of Kanchrapara. The road from Dattapara to Kasthadanga was upgraded as a part of the PMGSY project. This upgardation had a considerable impact on the lives of the villagers of the Mathpur village, especially with respect to agriculture, etc.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the village economy. Rice is the main crop grown in this village. There are two types of rice which is grown here, boro (rice which is grown with the help of irrigation) and aman (rice which is grown in the rainy months). Due to scarcity of water and irrigation, other crops are not grown. However, after each harvest some vegetables and pulses are grown. The most common among them are seasam and mustard seeds.

The upgraded PMGSY road has eased the total agricultural production process. The time taken for the transportation of the crops to the markets has decreased considerably. Earlier, one man could carry only 1 quintal of rice in his bullock cart (Kunal Das, Mathpur). Besides, it was almost impossible to sell the rice in the rainy months. Now, with the help of the tractors and matadors, the villagers can very easily sell their produce in the markets.

The cost of transportation has also decreased. "Earlier, a man used to spend Rs 10 to take one quintal of rice, now with the help of van, the same can be marketed at Rs 6 or Rs 7" (School teacher, Mathpur). The farmers are now able to save time as well. "Earlier, the bullock carts were very problematic, but now trucks ply on the good road... It is even saving our time" (Rojot Ghosh, Mathpur).

Also after the road was upgraded, the wholesale dealers come to the village to collect the grains. This reduces the farmer's trips to the market to sell the agricultural produce and saves the carrying cost. "Nowadays, people come with their vehicles and carry away the grain." (Samir Haldar, Mathpur).

The farmers can now get a better price of their harvest. "The price of the rice was Rs 230 per bag, now after the road was upgraded, we are getting upto Rs 300/" (Farmer, Mathpur).

Other employment opportunities have also opened up after the road was upgraded. Some of the villagers are engaged as daily wage earners in the nearby brick building industry. The production of milk and its selling price has also increased. "Milkman comes to our place daily and collect the milk from us and sell it to the nearby markets. Earlier, due to bad roads, we could not go to sell our excess milk and were forced to consume it ourselves" (Subroto Mondol, Mathpur). Poultry and dairy production has also increased. "A new poultry farm has been set up after the road was upgraded" (Panchayat member, Mathpur)

Thus, it can be seen that the upgradation of the road passing through the village of Mathpur has a great impact on the lives of the villagers. The upgradation of the roads has helped in the improvement of the transport and communications, thus helping the villagers improve their living conditions with better employment opportunities.

Case Study II

Village: Bandgacha
Block: Raina I
District: Barddhaman
Nature of Benefit:Improvement in Health Status

Health was an important area where the impact of the road was greatly felt. The general disease prevailing in Bandgacha village was diarrhoea, skin diseases, jaundice etc. The incidence of such diseases has decreased considerably as the patients can now be easily taken to the nearest health centre/ hospital.

"Earlier, the villagers used to take the patients on their shoulders. Now, after the road was upgraded, patients can be easily taken to the doctor by cars" (Sumona Das, Bandgacha)

The delivery complication among pregnant women has also decreased. Now, pregnant women can go to the nearby hospital and consult the doctor from the initial stages of their pregnancy. With improvement in modes of transportation, most of the deliveries take place in health institutions.

"When a pregnant women has labour pains, we call an ambassador and she is immediately taken to the hospital" (Health Worker Bandgacha)

With better antenatal and postnatal care, there has been a reduction in the neonatal deaths as well.

"Out of every ten children born, there were two neonatal deaths. Now, after the road was upgraded, I have not heard of any neonatal deaths" (Quack, Bandgacha).

The frequency of visits of the health worker has also increased.

"Due to the bad roads, the Government health workers did not use to come to the village; now they come more often and give medicines to the villagers" (Din Dayal Pal, Bandgacha)

"Before, the road was upgraded, a villager who was bitten by snake was taken to hospital on shoulders of two other persons. He died on the way as it took a long time to reach the nearest hospital." (Panchayat member, Bandgacha).

After the road was upgraded, villagers can easily go to the doctors and nearby health institutions. Thus, there has been an overall health improvement in Bangacha village due to the better connectivity of PMGSY road .

"Unlike earlier days, now the patients are immediately taken to the hospital in private vehicles" (Panchayat member, Bandgacha)

Case Study III

Village: Saguna
Block: Shantipur
District: Nadia
Nature of Benefit:Improvement in Education

The upgradation of the road has also helped in increasing the education and literacy level of the village. After primary level, students had to walk to go to middle and high schools. Now, trekkers ply at regular interval. They can now reach school in very less time.

"Many girls have learnt riding bicycles after the road was upgraded" (School teacher, Saguna).

Besides, during the rainy season, the attendance in the schools dropped drastically.

"Now, students can go to schools through out the year" (Panchayat member, Bandgacha).

Thus, there has been an overall improvement in the education level after the road was upgraded.

The School with an increase in attendance and enrolment of students, after upgradation of PMGSY road, Saguna village, Shantipur block, Naida.

Case Study IV

Name: Amit Ganguly
Village: Basuda
Block: Bhatar
District: Barddhaman
Nature of Benefit:Increase in average household income

Amit Ganguly, a resident of the Basuda village in Bhatar block was a farmer. He owned some agricultural land near the village. Farming was the main occupation until the road Bonpass to Najra was upgraded. He grew rice along with some seasonal vegetables. He also owned some land just beside the new PMGSY road. With some amount of loan from the Bank, he opened a small grocery shop. Some other villagers also followed him. Few of them opened shops selling fertilizer, chemicals etc. Now after a year, a proper market has come up and the villagers purchase their entire requirement from there. Amit is now planning to sell his agricultural land and concentrate full time on his grocery shop. His average income has increased almost three folds after opening of his grocery shop.

Different types of shops opened up along the PMGSY road in Basuda village, Bhatar block, Barddhaman.

Case Study V

Name: Shushanto Banik (weaver)
Village: Saguna
Block: Shantipur
District: Barddhaman
Nature of Benefit:Increase in average household income

Weaving sarees is one of the main occupation of the villagers. Earlier the weavers used to carry the sarees on their cycle to the nearly local market and sell them. Sushanto Banik also was no such exception. He would sell the sarees in Shantipur and Phulia and his wife would weave them. Many times, he complained that the sarees would get spoilt, especially during the raining season. But he did not have any other option than carrying them on his bicycle.

After the upgradation of the PMGSY road from Bagachra to Sreerampur, he carrries the sarees in a van. Four villagers have pooled in money and bought a small van to carry sarees to the market. He comes home early and thus has time to weave himself. Now the husband and wife weave the sarees together. Shushanto goes twice a week to the Phulia bazar to sell the sarees. He says that he can devort many more hours on weaving. Earlier much of his time was spent on travel. He makes more sarees and thus gets more money.

The road has helped the weavers in more ways than one. With connectivity, the travel time to the markets has also reduced. The time spend on collecting the raw materials for making sarees has thus decreased considerably. Connectivity of PMGSY roads has helped in increasing the average household income of Shushanto and other beneficiaries.