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Rural Research
Report
Mubarakpur Village, Haryana
Submitted by:
Ankita Datta – 19088
Gaurav Garg – 19018
Vivek Mehta - 19080
Contents
Village Profile ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Village Topography ................................................................................................................................... 4
Village Climate .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Type of Soil ................................................................................................................................................ 4
Type of Terrain .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Land Use Pattern....................................................................................................................................... 5
Demographic Composition ....................................................................................................................... 5
Occupation ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Village Resources .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Travelling to and from the nearest town .................................................................................................. 6
Bus station or stop .................................................................................................................................... 6
Type of crops grown in the area ............................................................................................................... 6
Amenities .................................................................................................................................................. 6
Social Structure ............................................................................................................................................. 9
Village Culture ............................................................................................................................................. 11
Customs .................................................................................................................................................. 12
Transition in the village ............................................................................................................................... 13
Media Consumption.................................................................................................................................... 15
Newspapers ............................................................................................................................................ 15
Radio ....................................................................................................................................................... 16
TV ............................................................................................................................................................ 16
Rural Retail .................................................................................................................................................. 17
Problems in Rural Retail: ......................................................................................................................... 17
Brand Consumption .................................................................................................................................... 18
Communication needs assessment: health care ........................................................................................ 23
The Problem ............................................................................................................................................ 23
Current Media and Communication ....................................................................................................... 24
Preferable Media and Communication ................................................................................................... 26
Village – Mubarakpur, Jhajjar, Gurgaon, Haryana
Mubarakpur is situated in Jhajjar tehsil and located in Jhajjar district of Haryana. It
is one of 102 villages in Jhajjar Block along with villages like Neola and Tumbaheri.
Village Topography
Mubarakpur is a town and municipality in Jhajjar district in Haryana state. It is
very near to Farukhnagar, one of the nine administrative blocks of Gurgaon
district situated 21 km from Gurgaon takes only 30 minutes to reach there.
Established in 1732 by Faujdar Khan, the first Nawab of Farrukhnagar and a
governor of Mughal Emperor (1713–1719) Farrukhsiyar in 1732, Farrukhnagar
flourished due to its salt trade till the late 19th century, and later it was
abandoned in early 20th century, during the British Raj .The Pataudi Palace is the
nearest palace above 17 KM of the Mubarakpur. This is the same Pataudi palace
whose ruler was Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and now Saif Ali Khan. Apart from the
residential areas, there were fields belonging to the different families near the
places of residence.
Village Climate
The village has extreme climate. Too hot in summers and too cold in winters. The
temperature in summers extends ranges from 40-48 degrees Celsius and there are
hot winds called Loo in local language. Winters are very cold. Monsoon starts at
late August and may extend till late October. Summers start early from April
peeking in June and July and winters peek in late December and January.
Type of Soil
The village mostly had a mixture of fertile alluvial and sandy soil. The crops that
were cultivated were wheat and barley and the farmers made adjustments to
their crop cycles in such a way that they managed to cultivate crops through the
year. Soil is often added with fertilizers for nitrogen.
Type of Terrain
The village mainly had a plain terrain. There are no irregular features. There are a
couple of small hills nearby and there are huge grassy lands mostly used for
grazing animals.
Land Use Pattern
This is primarily an agricultural community and most of the land in the village was
used for farming. Agricultural land was predominant, even though due to efforts
by the district administration, there was a good main road connected to the
nearby big village and commercial centre of Farukhnagar and ample space for a
mid-sized school.
Demographic Composition
i. Men – 1050
ii. Women – 890
iii. More than 300 houses
Occupation
The primary occupation of the men in the village was farming. Most of the
farmers have their own land to work on. Some work on a zamindar’s land also.
However as with most other parts of Haryana this is a belt of rich farmers who
own acres of land. Per capita income is higher compared to other farmers of other
states. The women used to help out in the fields along with doing household work
like cooking, cleaning, etc. Seeds and fertilizers are sold at different rates in
different shops. The produce is sold to nearby bigger Mandis of Farukhnagar and
Daboda.
Travelling to and from the nearest town
The villagers prefer to take local buses and autos. Small sized tempos as they call
them are very popular for travel. Some prefer public jeep transport. Many prefer
walking to nearby villages.
Bus station or stop
There is a mini bus stop in Mubarakpur and buses are well connected to nearby
villages. Most of these buses are from Haryana road transport and very less
private buses. One must wait for a lot of time though for the bus to arrive and the
service is not as good. Sometimes however there are frequent buses and one has
to wait less.
Type of crops grown in the area
The major crops of this district are barley, millet, oat and gram. Oat is the chief
Kharif Crop of this area. It is used as green fodder for animals. Vegetables are also
grown here. The farmers of this district also sow mustard, toria and taramira,
which are cash crops
Amenities
Health care – The nearest healthcare centre is present in Farukhnagar. A nurse
comes to the village once a month to provide primary health care to the women.
The villagers claim that most of the babies are delivered in the small civil hospital in
Farukhnagar and not many use traditional delivery mechanisms and mid-wives at
home. For advanced cases, villagers go to Gurgaon and nearby big towns where
now lot of big hospitals like Fortis, Medanta, Apollo have opened up and the
vicinity to Gurgaon has greatly helped in improving the healthcare facilities. Even in
small towns like Farukhnagar private hospitals with great many emergency
facilities have opened up. Anganwadi workers are present and there is good facility
for vaccination for common diseases like polio and malaria.
Shops – People shop for their needs in local Kirana shops mostly run by baniya
community. The Kirana store sells pulses, sometimes sweets, chocolates, chips,
household material, sometimes vegetables and stationery and other sundry
material at his small shop. For bulk shopping the villagers prefer to visit bigger
shops in nearby relatively larger towns.
Animal Husbandry – Rearing Animals is one of the most common and most
financially sustaining activities in Haryana. Most people have buffaloes intheir
homes and sell milk to nearby dairies and some sell to big citis to rake in more
bucks like Gurgaon, Jhajjar etc. People mostly prefer buffaloes. The buffaloes give
as much as 20L of milk and people use high milk yielding hybrid varieties of
buffaloes like Murrah, Holstein Freisien etc. who give as high as 25L milk daily.
Some of these varieties are also called as black gold. Gurgaon is all set to get its
first state-of-the-art multi-speciality pet hospital. The decision to set up the fourth
such hospital in India, after Chennai, Kochi and Panchkula was taken by the Animal
Husbandry Department of Haryana. The hospital will be equipped with facilities like
a diagnostic lab, blood bank, dog dentistry, 24-hour casualty, ambulance service,
ventilators, all kinds of surgical instruments, breeding section, dog hostel, beauty
parlour and pet training centre
School – the education is mostly in high schools which have Haryana board and
education is mostly in Hindi. Education in English is yet not popular but parents are
aspirational and are looking forward to English schools in another 4-5 years’ time.
The students from classes 1-10 and change their school after 10th class and go to
city or bigger town for higher education. Most of them do day boarding.
The school has a playground which is mostly unstructured and extends to nearby
fields, a tube well, a well, bricked building. Bus service is not there as most of the
children are from the village itself who prefer to walk. Early drop-out rate remains
the primary concern for the school and many of its students drop out early or are
forced to abandon their studies mid-way every year as their parents migrate for
their annual work shift to other parts of the state.
The problem is some of the parents are susceptible to migration due to the nonbonded and temporary nature of their labour.
Post Office and PCO – The nearest post office is in Farrukhnagar. The same can be
said for a PCO, even though due to high mobile/cellular phone
penetration, the necessity of a PCO is much reduced. Speed post and other
services in the post office are popular and people mostly use traditional method of
posts using stamps and envelope.
Bank – The nearest branch of a bank is the State Bank of India branch. The village
has a small Syndicate bank and a corporation bank. There is a branch of Grameen
bank in the periphery. Other than that, there is a micro credit system that has been
started by local authorities.
Tractors – Tractors from Mahindra and local Sonalika are very popular for farming
and agriculture. A lot of people use tractors for local commute also. People can
rent it for Rs. 350 per hour, though the quality of
work done by the tractor is less efficient than that done by bullocks.
Power Supply
The village has electric supply, though there are power cuts that last for more than
four to five hours each day. Electricity is one major issue in this belt. People find
themselves sometimes unable to do farming because their electric tube wells don’t
work without electricity. The overall spread of electricity connection is around 70%
, even though individual usage and condition of connectivity of the houses may
differ.
Irrigation Facility
People usually own wells in the village that have pumps to draw water out of them.
Irrigation happens by this means. If a family doesn’t own a village, but has a field,
they can ask a well owner to rent the well to them for a certain period of time. A
tank has been built nearby but there is no water in it yet. The village has hand
pumps installed by the government for daily water consumption.
Mubarakpur is a place where the social structure is followed but in a very cordial and
practical manner. Jats are the predominant caste in the village and also form the
majority, followed by Yadavs, Heers, Sainis, Chamars, Dhanaks and Valmikis. The caste
structure is mostly based upon the occupation of the people as follows:
Caste
Occupation
Jat
Farming
Heer/Yadav
Farming
Bawariya
Workers
Saini
Small farmers
Chamar
Sanitary work
Dhanak
Carpenter
Valmikis or Harijans are the untouchables of the village. They are not prohibited from
following any profession (also at the same wages) but their status in the society is
somewhat substandard. One of the manifestations of this fact is that lower caste
people are still made to sit on the floor while others sit on chairs and cots. The way they
are talked to and about also reaffirms this fact.
Jats and Heers/Yadavs are two strong farmer communities with Jats claiming to be the
original inhabitants of the place. Among Jats, the Choudhary community is the most
prosperous and influential. Instances of fights between these communities are rare but
strong when they occur. The various castes have mutually accepted their respective
places and caste based riots are rare or non-existent. The major source of income is
agriculture, except a few from the new generation who are educated and have gone
out to the nearby cities for work. The Jats and Yadavs dominate the politics of the
village and the MLA always comes from one of these communities.
Most of the village population is Hindu, although as the name of the village suggests,
Muslims used to live here until independence when they were either killed or forced to
flee due to the riots. The population is mostly non-vegetarian except the pandits who
conduct religious rituals. People of all the castes eat the same kind of staple food which
is mostly grown in their own farms. The Zamindars are considered higher in terms of
hierarchy irrespective of their caste. Though caste consciousness is very high, one
doesn’t get a feeling of any animosity or rivalry between the two nor has there been
any reported instance of fighting between the two castes in the recent past. The
zamindars are higher in the hierarchy is primarily because they are the land owners and
have lot of animals. They own most of the land in the area. By virtue of that, they are
economically better off than the labour class who mostly work as agricultural labourers
in the lands owned by the zamindars. Even though some of the Baniyas own land as
well, their relatively smaller population as well as the sheer size of the land mass owned
by the Jats and Yadavs, makes them economically and socially inferior. This is also
represented in the manner the sarpanch of the village is created who are all from the
Jat community. However in some villages nearby the Baniyas are powerful due to
strong political clout and big businesses.
In terms of clothing, all the castes wear similar clothes. There is no distinction based on
that parameter, men are not as likely to wear the ceremonial turban which are mostly
seen to be worn by the Yadavs and Jats. Baniyas are less inclined to wear turban. Jats
are called Chaudhary as respect and it has become characteristic of them. Most
commonly villagers wear shirt paint, kurta pyjama or achkan as they call it. dressing is
very simple. Dhoti is common to wear in elders.
Dominant Values
People in general believe in ideas such as honesty, hard work and faith in God as
important to life. The other important value as such was caste pride and people
were generally quick to point out that caste and creed formed an important part of
their life and as such it was necessary to respect and follow village customs and
traditions and general caste rules laid down by society.
b. Aspirations
There isn’t really any aspiration of going to the towns. People generally believe
that being self-employed (farming) is better than working for someone.
c. Women and Youth
Women were mostly housewives who helped in the fields and not many were very
educated and even barely literate. The women were seen in more traditional roles
and the women we spoke to emphasized on the traditional roles they had to play
and seemed happy about it. The youth seemed very disinterested in going out and
working and the general assumption was that it is okay to work in the fields, where
it was also very convenient. They seemed aware of the lack of skills they had
beyond the field but were happy and not complaining. When asked whether they
were keen on getting another skill, most seemed disinterested and only a handful
said that they were keen to go and acquire a different technical skill from the
nearest ITI (Industrial Training Institute) which was in Gurgaon
d. Education – If people get educated, they go to small towns to work, mostly
clerical. If the child doesn’t do well in academics, then he/she is asked to take part
in farming activities. School dropout rates are high, especially among the migrant
labour community and this seriously affected the studies of students and the
general literacy level in the village. In general, while most people we spoke to
seemed to acknowledge the importance of education, they seemed disinterested
and disinclined
to give it more importance than their immediate financial and physical needs and
were even willing to compromise on it if the need be. Educational goals were not
considered primary even though awareness of it was very high. One reason for this
was that most families thought that farming was inevitable for the child and that
schools necessarily intruded upon the time that the child could have spent learning
in the fields and helping the family out.
Customs
i. During weddings, all the castes are invited to each other’s houses. No
Inter caste weddings are allowed. In fact inter caste man and women are
considered brothers and sisters. Dowry as a system is still prevalent though the
pressure to pay isn’t a lot. It has become more of a token system where in a sum of
Rs. 1000 – 1500 is demanded from the bride. Weddings tend to take place in the
houses of the bride and groom. There is a major party that happens once the
wedding is over involving a DJ who comes from the city. This is a gesture that is
indicative of the wealth of the hosts of the function. The average marriage age for
men is 23 yrs. There is also a very established custom of making a career and being
able to fend for oneself before one gets married.
ii. The main festivals that are celebrated are Holi, Diwali and Dusshera, Holi is the
harvest festival and marks the beginning of the so called “Season” in which wheat
is harvested and sold to markets. Everyone therefore waits for Holi and it is one of
the most prominent festivals. In Dusshera,a huge effigy of Ravana is built and
burned down. Children enjoy festivals a lot. Ramlila is shown in the village by the
group and most of the village enjoys it.
iii. There are many small temples in the area and everyone prays together. Often
people have created small temples within their houses. Superstitious are rampant.
There is no demarcation drawn between the castes in terms of worshipping. Idol
worship is still the constant. The only people who aren’t allowed into temples are
women when they are in their menstrual period.
A puja is often conducted when a new baby is born. While there is a lot of
celebration for a male child, there is less adulation for a female one.
Typical Haryanvi mind-set is there when it comes to male child. Sex ratio in the
village is low and unfavourable for the girl child.
During the death of an individual, women aren’t allowed to take part in the rites
and rituals that are associated with a person’s demise.
The social structure has transitioned slowly over a period of times in that one who is
reach is considered better and in some cases changes his last name. E.g. the rich heer
farmers of the village are called Rao Saab and are also respected by Jats. Also,
anybody from any caste can get their children educated in schools. There are also
cases where people of lower caste have gotten rich and employ higher caste people.
Marriages among different caste are rare, although not prohibited.
Interview Transcript: The Wise Men (local language)
Name – Ram Lal, Purshottam, Charan Das
Village: Mubarakpur
To what extent have you seen changes in the village in the following areas:
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Education
Bache khoob pad rahe hain. Ladkiya bhi. Aaj kal to sunte hain ladkiyo ne maari baaji ladke pichad
gaye. 12vi tak to bache pada hi kare hain yaha.
agricultural practices - crop pattern and yields
idhar jadatar log rabi ki fasal me sarso ki bijai karte hain lekin gehu bhi acha paida hota hai. Kharif ki
fasal me bajra, jawar ki fasal ugti hai.iske alava log pashu bhi rakhte hain.
implements used in agriculture
Kheti ke liye hamare yaha tube well hai. Fasal ke liye yaha paani bilkul theek hai. Sarkar tube well pe
subsidy deti hai. Log fertilizer bhi use karte hain. Pehle desi khad zyada use hoti thi, ab to log
fertilizer use kare hain kyuki zameen kam reh gayi hai.
cost of living - income and expenditure
mehangai ka to ji aisa hai ke badti hi jaave hai. Ab ahaare jamane me ek rupaye me poora ration aa
jaya kare tha. Ab to aap dekho sau rupaye me bhi kuch nahi hota. Paisa ko hai wo sasat hota jar aha
hai samay ke sath.
product usage and practices, especially in some areas: bathing/using soap; mouth washing/using
toothpowder, paste, etc.
Hamaare maa baap ne hume khaddar ke kapde pehanaye the. Aapne nahi dekhe humne dekhen hain.
Ib aap jaise jawaan ladke ladkiyo ka fashion to alag hi hove hai. Poore samaaj ko bigaad diya. Lekin
jaisa samay hai waisa hi chalna chahiye. Pehle hum choole pe roti potte the, lekin ab to gas aa gayi
hai. Pichle 5-10 saalo me mobile phone sab suvidhaye aa gayi hain. Ab to toothpaste aa gayi hai lekin
hum to abhi bhi ungli te hi ghasat hain. Lekin jo ladke ladkiya hain unka to uthte hi yahi kaam hai.
Pehle hum kapde dhote the de thap de thap, ab to machine aa gayi hai. Pehle aurate laati thi kooye se
paani bharkar, ab ghar ghar tooti hai. Aap sochiye badlav kitna aa gaya hai.
Intra and inter-caste relations
Sab sath me mil ke hi raha kare hain. Aaj to dekho kisi ne farak nahi padta koi kis jaat ka hai jab tak
wo kaam theek se karta hai. Jo ameer ho jata hai uski ijjat sab kare hain. Jaat hai lekin kaam ke beech
me nahi aati. Aapas me koi aise khaas ladai nahi hoti. Ab koi daru peeke jhagda kare to wo alag baat
hai.
marriage boundary and marriage celebrations
Saamajik hisaab se abhi bhi, jaise hum to jaat hai hamari to koshish yehi rahegi ke hamare ladke ki
shaadi jaataa me hi ho. Main to apne ladke ka hi udaahran doonga, ye bahar rehta hai. Hum koshish
karenge ke apni jaat me hi shadi ho, lekin bhagwan na kare kisi ke sath pyar mohabbat ho bhi jaye to
mere jaisa to maan bhi jaaye ke ladka ladki pade likhe hain, baaki iss cheez ke to hum bhi khilaaf
hain. Aisa koi nahi hai abhi hamaare yaha jo doosri jaat me shaadi kare. Hamare yaha khap panchayat
nahi hoti hai. Agar hoti bhi hai to hamare jaisa koi aadmi samjha deta hai. Wo kehta hain ladka ladki
ko bahar nikal do lekin hamari soch me aisi koi baat nahi hai. Hum ye nahi keh rahe ke aisa nahi hota
hai.hamare yaha nahi hua hai kabhi. Hamare gaon ke sab logo ko pata iss cheez ke bare me. Hum 3
gotra bacha ke shadi karte hain – apna, maa kaa, aur daadi ka. Usko hum khandan bolte hain. Doosre
gotra ki bhalayi bhi isi me hai. Hum aapko apne bete ki shaadi ka nimantran denge phir aap dekhna.
The Village Mubarakpur can’t be categorized as a media dark or media rich area. The
diffusion of media in the village is very uneven.
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On one hand, the marginal families have only one television per home (mostly
placed in the first room/drawing room), and on the other, families like that of the
Sarpanch or the educated youths have, on an average, two to three television
sets per home. Mostly all the homes have local cable connection services.
Radio listening is very rare but, exists only among the older men.
News channels are available to them, but get very little viewership. Newspapers
are also delivered but, less no. of homes are registered for these newspapers
(around 5%)
Internet as a communication channel is available for only the tech-savvy youths
(those who own laptops and computers).
Most of the homes (more than 90%) have only 1 TV set per home, which is situated in
the drawing room, Viewing is mostly confined to meal times – lunch and dinner. While
ladies, who prefer to watch channels like GEC’S and movies, watch during the day; the
men, who get time to watch with dinner, prefer movies, sports and news channels.
Penetration of newspapers and internet, and preference for radio is relatively lesser. TV
is the most liked and used medium for information, communication and recreation.
People consider these media channels as rich source of information and recreation,
but when it comes to relying and making decisions, they don’t trust media and don’t
consider it a trustworthy source. For example, they rarely recall brand commercials
during their purchases.
Newspapers
2 major newspapers are accessible for the villagers of Mubarakpur – Times of India and
Hindustan Times apart from the local, regional (and hindi) dailies and magazines (like
Dainik Jagran and Punjab Kesari). But the enrollment for newspapers is very low among
villagers (around 5%). These newspapers and dailies are delivered by a local
newspaper agent, who delivers them early morning on a daily basis. For the limited no.
of homes which receive these newspapers (those of the rich farmers, landlords family,
Sarpanch and families who have their sons working in the cities), they are read by
mostly men, who prefer to read the major headlines, and sometimes the sports
columns. The ladies follow the hindi newspapers and magazines like ‘Meri Saheli’. Also,
the local retail shops (tea and paan shops) located around the village have
subscriptions for newspapers (hindi), and farmers and other villagers read these when
they visit these shops.
Radio
Radios are not bought in Mubarakpur, they have become old man’s commodity.
People mostly preferred radio on their mobile phones. Most of the people in the village
had mobile phones. People liked to listen to Haryanvi-Ragini and Haryanvi folk songs on
their phone. Some local Haryanvi radio stations were popular.
TV
As mentioned earlier, around 95% of the village homes have (single) TV sets, (all of them
being color TV). T V sets are usually situated in the drawing room, Viewing is mostly
confined to meal times – lunch and dinner. While ladies, who prefer to watch channels
like GEC’S and movies, watch during the day; the men, who get time to watch with
dinner, prefer movies, sports and news channels. With families being relatively
independent now, there is no community TV viewing and no considerable discussions of
TV content now.
In the rural retail space, following points need to be kept in mind, considering the rural
shopper:
1. Intra community influences are very significant for rural. Word-of-mouth in close knit
communities is more powerful.
2. Scarcity of media bandwidth. Rural customer’s access to media channels is limited,
and key influencers here would be the retailer and people who have some kind of link
with the urban setup (or the comparatively updated lot)
3. Slow to adopt brands. Slow to give them up. Rural consumers will be slower to pick up
trends or brands but will remain loyal when accepted.
4. Expenses are yearlong; income is seasonal. Many rural areas rely on agricultural
incomes from seasonal crops. This means there will be more disposable income at
certain times with rural businesses and employees.
5. Information hungry; but entertainment starved. The communication content directed
towards the rural population should be edutainment i.e. it should be entertaining
enough to get their message across.
6. Higher receptivity to experience advertising. Retail outlets in rural areas have many
demonstration areas along with markets for tasting/experiencing.
7. Commercially profitable; and socially acceptable. Brands with demonstrable local,
rural, environmental and/or social credibility stand a better chance.
Problems in Rural Retail:
The literacy rate among rural consumers is very low. In India there are 18 languages
which are recognized, these languages and many dialects are spoken in rural India.
English and Hindi are not understood by many people. Due to this rural consumers do
not get exposure to new products.
It is a fact that for the rural customer, the key decision maker is solely the man of the
family, though in some of the purchases, other family members might also play
significant role. Further, the people who are considered wise and knowledgeable
include the city returned guy or the influential Sarpanch and other such dignitaries.
Although Word of Mouth plays an important role in forming perceptions, the only point
of contact is the Village Retailer.
While making purchase, people question him about the utility, pricing, effectiveness
and value of various brands. His suggestions are major influencers for the shopper.
Credit System – Since many of the rural customers shop basis their everyday wages,
they prefer smaller SKU’s and need credits for their purchases. Credits are an integral
part of the rural retail.
Since no considerable data exists for the rural customers, the primary means of
customer relations exists in the form of the retailer. It’s important to teach and equip the
rural retailer, for success in the rural retail.
In the rural scenario, the retailer is also almost a customer. To maintain his loyalty,
regular schemes aiming at the retailer should be followed (like painting his shop,
providing billboards, standees etc.)
For purchase of durables, along with the price, trust factor and the retailer matter a lot.
And although agriculture is not the most followed occupation in Mubarakpur, agroinputs and other such purchases are influenced by the native farmers and government
helplines and agents (similar to ITC e-choupal)
Interview Transcript – Rural Retailer
Name – Bhagwandas Mohanlal
Village - Mubarakpur
I opened this shop around 7 years ago, in front of my residence. Unfortunately I didn’t get any
help from the village panchayat or banks for setting up this shop. It’s all on my own.
I don’t get any branded promotional stuff here, but some forms of communication come up from
brands sometimes, like they install some big billboards on the above shutter of my shop. A few
months ago, Today Tea painted my shop with its logo and brand colors. Some brands also
provide branded standees, holders etc. (Olay, Center Fresh) A few days ago, I was
communicated by my distributor that Hindustan UniLever is willing to paint my shop afresh if I
purchase products worth Rs.50,000. I didn’t but rumours are that some of the shopkeepers who
bought did not get any service from HUL.
I basically get my products sourced from a distributor in Pataudi, around 20kms away from our
village. He supplies the stock through a mini-van. Otherwise, some brands have also released
agents here for supplying their products.
This village is the center-point of many villages, so many surrounding villages’ retailers (around
3-5 kms) buy stock from our shops.
I get discount margins of around 8-9% on HUL products, if I purchase more than worth Rs.5000.
I don’t get any Diwali or festival bonus. But some brands do give me target, if I sell up to that
target I get some merchandise free.
Drinks and other coolant product’ brands provide refrigerators for their products.
Mostly people here buy on credit system, nobody pays regularly.
Not all brands sell here, people buy specific products only, like only MDH spices, Today tea sell
here.
Mostly smaller packets sell here. People don’t buy in kgs but they prefer smaller sachets.
Expensive brands and expensive products (like dry fruits) sell only on occasions (like weddings).
But mostly villagers prefer cheaper brands.
Also, I don’t sell on MRP. I provide further discounts on products, like I would sell a Rs.31
toothpaste in Rs.25.
For expired products, if they are not perishable, I sell them in heavy discounts for clearing the
stock, or use in my own home. For the perishable items, I dispose them off.
For purchases, all family members come to our shop – kids, ladies, men.
For the daily wage earner, he comes to my shop in the evening and would buy his basic
necessities, even his every dinner stuff.
New brands sometimes come and visit our shops and inform us about their products, and
promote products, ask us to push their products.
We don’t use any computer or handheld. All work is done manually. Indeed, we don’t keep any
bills, accounts or records of our inventory. We maintain our processes on intuition. We sell
around Rs.2000 worth products daily.
We use telephone to connect to distributors, we place orders on phone.
The Problem
Health Care is one of the most critical areas when it comes to rural India. Considering
the limited facilities available in a sub-centre, 50% of the sanctioned posts of Specialists
at Community Health Centers remaining vacant,run-down infrastructure, poor supply of
drugs and equipment, illegal selling of the public welfare supplies and soaring rates of
chronic employee absenteeism, commission practices that exist between the rural
unqualified doctors and the doctors from the health institutions in the nearest cities or
the district heads; quality health-care remains a mirage for much of rural India. There is
no healthy Comparison of this with the hospital (public and private) beds available in
the urban areas, which are greatly uneven. While the rural poor are underserved, at
least they can access the limited number of government-support medical facilities that
are available to them.
Solutions including the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), Janani
Suraksha Yojana(JSY), fundamental reform of the long established Public Distribution
System (PDS), a new Food Security bill under consideration by parliament which
proposes to issue coupons direct to BPL families, Vandemataram Scheme, RCH
programme and programs to encourage sustainable farming practices are being
implemented for the overall development.
Indian health services have carved out meaningful programmes of health services,
research and demonstration. Mobile based primary health care systems, Automated
Medical records, and development of innovative roles for allied health professionals,
Telecommunications and Telemedicine—the remote diagnosis, monitoring and
treatment of patients via videoconferencing or the Internet. It’s only through solutions
such as these that a rural population approaching 700 million can be benefitted with
proper healthcare facilities.
In villages like Mubarakpur, a major hurdle is the communication gap between the
people and the health care service providers. This also manifests in the lack of trust
which causes major problems to the service providers in delivering. Many of the village
people, especially those who are less literate do not go to a doctor except in the case
of emergencies. Also, it is difficult to administer preventive care to the village
population as they do not understand the importance of it. Addressing these
challenges would be a major step in rural development.
Current Media and Communication
Asha workers (Accredited social health activists) act as the mode of communication
between the govt. health care service people and the village population. They
are community health workers instituted by the government of India's Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare (MoHFW) as part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). One
Asha worker takes care of 1000 villagers and are paid a modest salary by the govt. for
the services. For example, if an ASHA facilitates an institutional delivery she receives Rs.
600 and the mother receives Rs. 1400. ASHAs also receive Rs. 150 for each child
completing an immunization session and Rs. 150 for each individual who undergoes
family planning. ASHAs are expected to attend a Wednesday meeting at the local
primary health centre (PHC); beyond this requirement, the time ASHAs spend on their
CHW tasks is relatively flexible. They are trusted by the villagers and are known to
everyone.
The medical officers conduct meetings with the ASHA workers who further conduct
meetings in the villages every foortnight. Rs. 750 per month is the budget allocated per
1000 people for this communication. A communication is also set up with the
Aanganwadi centres in the village. Posters and wall paintings are the main media for
communication. In cases of emergency, the villagers come to the CHCs first and have
to be referred to the city hospital. This causes a lot of time being wasted in transit.
Preferable Media and Communication
The objective is to have improved access to quality public health services through the
process of Community Mobilization with the help of participatory communication
techniques. Technical support and mentoring should be provided to the stakeholders to
facilitate open dialogue, sharing of field realities and bridge the gap between the
accessibility and availability of health services. Rural press is one of the most important,
viable and effective means of communication for reaching out to the vast majority of
rural population. The mobile boom has also hit rural India. Leveraging cellphones as a
means of communication will help establish a real time link between the villagers and
the health care services. Children are another important and highly feasible means of
communication which can be leveraged to reach out to their parents. This can be
done through programmes in schools. Street plays and radio channels should also be
used to teach people about seasonal diseases and preventive measures to be taken.
In addition, most of the villages have local associations and place of worship where the
community meets and share information. Policy makers and programme managers
should tap all these resources to educate the community, especially the rural
community.