In Madhya Pradesh, pandemic reverses gains made in girls' education

Children in Satna set aside their school bags and play with their friends during the lockdown (Picture Credit - Shuchita Jha)Girls are disproportionately affected as the pandemic decimates livelihoods and puts learning out of reach of many children, undoing decades of work in making education accessible to all. Bhopal: The pandemic has resulted in millions of casualties worldwide, while in the Indian heartland it has brought death to the dreams of education nursed by thousands of children, and especially young girls.“I do not know what to do anymore,” sobbed one former student, who at the tender age of 16, had to give up her education in exchange for childbirth and an abusive marriage.She was a bright student who scored 85 per cent marks in her Class 10 Board exams. But the girl’s mother, a single parent, took advantage of the lockdown and the lull in her education to get her married off to a much older man last year. “The man soon started harassing the girl, physically and sexually, and she conceived,” Archana Sahaye, director of Childline, Bhopal, told 101Reporters.“She is a teenager, and her body is still developing, but despite this, she was forced to have a baby, and her in-laws did not even give her food during her pregnancy. She became highly anaemic. It was then that someone informed her mother of her plight. She came to us for help but by the time we rescued the girl, she was in her seventh month of pregnancy, and very fragile. Had there been a further delay, the doctors said they wouldn’t have been able to save her,” she added.The teenager gave birth to a daughter in July and is now trying to get her marriage annulled with the help of Childline and the Women and Child Development Department. “We have filed an application in court and the procedure has started. Had she been allowed to continue her studies, the girl would have had a brighter future,” Sahaye added, explaining that the girl’s former school principal has assured her that she will be given admission once she recovers from her delivery.Such is the condition of many girls even in the capital city of Bhopal. The girl students have had it worse, as the parents refuse to prioritise their education for want of smartphones and an internet connection for online classes. They choose the easier option of grooming the girls for domesticity and marrying them off in order to have one less mouth to feed.Safeena Husain, the founder of Educate Girls, explains, “With families staying at home amid economic hardships, incidences of domestic violence, drunk behaviour and child abuse have increased. If this persists, the risks of child marriage, physical and sexual exploitation of girls, trafficking, unhygienic and unhealthy lifestyle will continue to drastically surge. Stuck in this situation, girls will continue to lose confidence and feel demotivated to return to mainstream education, further pushing them into deeper vulnerability. It is now critical to have measures in place to get them back to school.”Experts fear that the social transformation that has been happening in these two decades leading to an increase in female literacy will be reversed as girls drop out of school. The literacy rate of women in MP had increased to 59.24% in the 2011 census from 50.29 in 2001.While the school dropout rate of girls in MP was 24.4 per cent in the year 2017-18, experts suspect a sharp rise in the dropout rate for 2020-21, as scores of girls were forced out of schools to help their families with domestic chores, sent to work for financial support, or married off as minors. "School was a socially acceptable reason for parents from marginalised and financially weaker sections of the society to send their daughters out of the home. In the absence of this, while boys continue to be exposed by going out to play with their friends, girls are getting left behind. If this continues for longer, the progress that has happened, will get reversed as social transformation of girls will take a back-seat and maintaining the status quo will become the norm, pushing them further into illiteracy," said Gourav Jaiswal, core team member of Shiksha Satyagrah in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh.This is reflected in the sharp rise in the rate of child marriages in the state - to the tune of 26 per cent - in the aftermath of covid. The Women and Child Department had stopped 196 child marriages in the 2019-20 period, while the number rose to 720 in 2020-21.According to a report released by Child Rights and You (CRY) in October 2020, compiled with help from Census 1991, 2001 and 2011, and the latest National Family Health Survey (2015-16), as many as 11,93,171 children in MP, aged 10-19, were married off in 16 years. Of these, 8,60,332 were girls.Starting from scratchHaseen Ali, who works as a driver in a car dealership, revealed he has been out of work since March and had to quietly discontinue his daughter’s education. “I have no money to buy food for my family, how can I afford books and a smartphone? I myself use a second-hand keypad phone given to me by another employee,” he explained sadly.His daughter is disheartened. “All my friends who passed Class 8 with me are now attending online classes for Class 9. I am sitting at home, doing nothing. I feel wretched,” she said. “I hope my father’s situation gets better soon. I want to study so that I can get a good job,” she added.A 13-year-old daughter of a ragpicker enrolled in Class 1 in 2019 at the age of 11. She had just begun her studies when the pandemic struck and she was forced to quit. Her mother is worried that the stroke of luck that gave her daughter a chance at education has now run out. “My husband and I are ragpickers and our children used to beg for alms. But two years ago, the local administration started a programme ‘Khushal Naunihal’ and got all such children enrolled in school. I was happy that my daughter was going to get an education, but now just after a year, she is right back where she started. She learnt to read at the age of 11, and now at 13 she is no further,” said Mangi, her mother.The ‘Khushal Naunihal’ programme began in 2019 under the leadership of the then Commissioner Bhopal Kalpana Shrivastav. The city administration along with seven other NGOs had identified around 400 children from six hotspots of the city where begging by children was most prevalent. They gathered these children and helped them enrol in government schools. But due to the pandemic, the initiative has run cold."The positive results of the programme have been reversed and since Kalpana Madam has also been transferred, we will now have to start from scratch to form a new team. The children who had been enrolled in schools have started begging again as the schools were closed for almost two years, and their parents lost their jobs. We tried to ensure continuity of their education with volunteers from the NGOs visiting designated areas and teaching the children. But ultimately all of us realised that the safety, health and food security of these children needed to be addressed immediately so most of the NGOs and the CWC Bhopal started concentrating on providing them ration and medicines," said Kripashankar Choubey, member of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Bhopal. The CWC played an important role in identifying child beggars in Bhopal under the Khushal Naunihal Programme."We are now planning to form a new team to start this programme again as soon as the pandemic ends," he added.This has been the case with others who have been trying to bring the focus back to education. They have had to confront the harsh reality of life during the pandemic and move back to square one. For example, the Madhya Pradesh Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the Childline tried to keep students in touch with the practice of learning and keeping them from forgetting what they studied so far. They purchased the books and notebooks for the students and the staff, along with a few volunteers, used to teach them over short periods of time at Bhopal Childline’s TT Nagar headquarters. “We distributed books to the children who live in the nearby slums and told them to come to us if they find something difficult to understand. We just want to ensure they do not go blank when they start school again,” said Sahaye. They expected schools would reopen soon and wanted to institute a stop-gap measure. But as days passed more challenges arose and they had to start channelling their funds and resources into ensuring food security of children in slum areas and in financially weaker families. The initiative had to be sidelined.Now that schools have started again for Class 6 and above, many of these NGOs and government bodies are having to go back to the drawing board about how to bring back the children who have once again been left behind.  

Guardians of the forest: MP village’s legacy of collective action keeps forest fires at bay

Through community management and traditional knowledge systems, Pathri village in Madhya Pradesh has championed the conservation of its 130-acre forest, keeping it free of forest fires for decades.Balaghat: At the break of dawn, Gajendra Rokde walked down the village road carrying a lathi to protect himself from wild boars. Then, with three of his friends, he entered the 130-acre forest adjacent to their village of Pathri, situated in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district.In the absence of Mansaram, the appointed van rakshak (forest protector) who had fallen ill, the villagers had taken it upon themselves to patrol the forest."I'll be here till noon to ensure that there are no trespassers who may cut down trees or harm the birds and animals in this forest. I'm checking for signs of smoke or sparks to put them out before they cause a forest fire," Rokde told 101Reporters.Having protected the forests for generations, the villagers of Pathri take turns inspecting the woods every morning. Due to their constant vigilance, there hasn't been a single forest fire incident in this dense jungle in more than eight decades.Meanwhile, there have been 54,321 fire alerts between January 1 and September 19 this year in Madhya Pradesh, as per the 2021 Forest Survey of India. This is the state with the largest forest cover in the country. Pannalal Nagpure, the village’s Sarpanch said that he hasn't heard of any forest fires in his area since when he was a child. “This jungle is ancient. I remember my grandfather used to be one of the caretakers of the forest. I haven't heard of any forest fires in this jungle since British time. We don't let anyone cut down healthy trees and only use what is needed,” he added.An inherited, collective task The jungle adjacent to Pathri is noted for a particular grass, known as Bid, used in Hindu funeral rites. This grass is an essential source of income for the villagers."The Bid grass grows to its full height by December and then starts drying up, increasing the risk of forest fires in March-April. The van rakshak removes the grass and dead leaves from the forest. People from other villages also buy it from us to thatch their roofs," said Nagpure. The villagers also collect dry sticks and dead tree branches and sell them to the locals at reasonable prices. "We only collect and auction the wood from trees that are already dead. The income generated through this helps us take up more developmental works in the village," added Nagpure.The village has a dedicated 15-member committee, called Sarvajanik Bid Samiti, named after the grass. The representatives of the committee are elected by the villagers every two years and are tasked with protecting the forest from any harm by appointing a van rakshak. Rokde, who serves as the committee's secretary, said that apart from bid the forest houses a diverse flora and fauna. It is home to trees like Sal, Teak, Mango, Neem, Banyan, Jamun and also animals like rabbits and wild boars alongside various butterfly species and birds."Earlier, there used to be a large population of vultures, but with time, they have become fewer in number," added Rokde. He told 101Reporters that the forest department hadn't conducted any survey or inspection as the forest area falls under revenue land. Nagpure recalled that there were talks back in 2009 to bring the forest under the forest department, but it didn't pan out due to reasons unknown to him. The villagers, however, think this is for the best. “Our jungle will be snatched away from us and the forest department will start their activities here. We know this forest like the back of our hand. If people from distant areas are sent here for patrolling and caretaking, they will take time to learn the ropes and won't listen to us,” said Rokde.He also brings up the issue of Naxal activity in the region. "Though Balaghat is a Naxal area, the Naxalites never stop us from entering the forest as they know that we will not harm it. But that equation may not be possible with outsiders," he said. Members of the Sarvjanik Bid Samiti of Pathri village tending to the 130-acre forest (pictured above) as part of their daily routine (Picture courtesy - Gajendra Rokde)Protecting the forest as a way of lifeTo protect the forests, the villagers of Pathri are employing traditional knowledge passed down through generations. "We have learned everything from our forefathers. They used to cut the grass annually, and it became a tradition. People used to wait for December or January to repair their homes after rains when the grass was available. Though we have cemented houses now, and only a few people need the grass, we are continuing this tradition for the forest’s safety," said Nagpure.He added that the van rakshaks also collect dry leaves from the ground and put them in small pits dug in the forest to turn them into mulch. "This way, we don't need any artificial fertilisers or chemicals for the trees as they get proper nutrition from the dead leaves and animal dung itself."The villagers also fiercely protect the forest from trespassers. "We love the trees here more than life itself. They are like our children, and we ensure that no one cuts them. In addition to the van rakshak’s daily care, all 15 members of the committee also conduct weekly inspections in the forest," Nagpure told 101Reporters.If the committee finds that a healthy tree has been cut down for selfish interests, there is a framework in place to ensure judgement and punishment. "We call a meeting, and the person who has chopped down a tree or a shrub is summoned. The witness who saw them cutting down the tree is also called to testify. In most cases, the culprit accepts his fault and is fined. The culprit has to pay the money to buy five plants, and the cost of transportation is included in his fine. When the committee procures the plants, the person responsible for cutting down the tree is called again to plant them at the same spot," Rokde added.The time has now come to appoint a new van rakshak. Having been at his post for almost 20 years, the current van rakshak, Mansaram, said, “We always elect someone who knows how to take care of trees and doesn't have any vested interests. I will just provide them with guidance as I'm too old to discharge my duties. It's been a pleasure to serve the forests.”This article is a part of a 101Reporters' series on The Promise Of Commons. In this series, we will explore how judicious management of shared public resources can help the ecosystem as well as the communities inhabiting it. 

Over 20 years, these two villages in MP managed to create lush woods on barren land

The villagers in Sagar continue to work on an abandoned afforestation project, resolved to grow and maintain the forest for posterity without exploiting it for financial gain.  Bhopal: Spread across over a thousand acres of hillsides near the villages of Manegaon and Dungariya in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district is a lush green wood that was once a stretch of barren land. The 1,030-acre forest was raised lovingly by locals from the two villages in Deori tehsil, who tended to and watered the young tree saplings for 20 years, watching them grow into adult trees that they are very proud of today. The forest, in return, has given them back manyfold, including resolving the water scarcity in the area. The initiative started thanks to the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative (IFFCO), a multi-state cooperative society engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of fertilisers. On October 12, 1998, as part of a pilot project, IFFCO planted two lakh trees on a stretch of a barren hillside to develop a forest, meant to provide employment and fuel for locals. The project was funded by Indo-Canadian Environment Facility and the villagers were given a stipend of Rs 5,000 a month to help them care for the young forest. But once the ICEF funding ran out in 2002, the villagers were left to their own devices. Within a few months, the new saplings were almost dead and the villagers decided to step in to protect them from human and animal interference. A labour of love Rajnish Mishra (56), a local farmer and social worker who exhorted the villagers to take care of the trees, said, “The saplings that IFFCO planted here almost died as they were delicate and needed a lot of care and irrigation, but miraculously, they revived when we prevented human activities and cattle-grazing here. Gradually, the native trees’ roots started sprouting again and today this forest has numerous trees, 70 per cent of it being sagwan (teak).”  “These trees are like my children. When the forest was young and the trees were hardly 3-4 years old, I got a call from a local saying someone was chopping down the trees and stealing wood without informing us. Back then, IFFCO used to give us funds to look after the forest. So, I ran to catch the thief, but on the way there I realised that our aim to develop the forest had emerged from our selfish motive of capitalising on forest produce, which really shocked me,” Mishra explained. He then resolved to protect the forest for posterity and not to make money, and asked the other villagers to do the same. “Almost 20 years later now, we have never collected wood, nor forest produce. We all just serve the forest to pass it on to our children,” he added.Anand Dixit of Deori, another social worker who is very active in the conservation efforts, recalled how the locals together worked tirelessly on the barren land. “The hills are right next to the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary. They used to lie barren, without any kind of vegetation until two decades ago, but now it is a breathtakingly beautiful area. The forest is also home to various species of reptiles like snakes and lizards, rabbits, deer, hyenas, wild boars, leopards and various species of birds,” Dixit added. While Mishra has invested thousands of rupees from his own pocket to protect the forest from animals by building fences, paying labourers to clear out leaves and dry grass etc., other villagers serve the forest in kind.“It is a big jungle so it is not possible for two or three people to look after it alone. So, the locals have divided the areas into groups. Also, people of different communities have united for this one goal of protecting the trees,” he added. Dixit echoed his words, saying that “while other villages struggle with caste issues, here members of the Lodhi, Thakur, Brahmin and tribal communities work together”.Villagers gather at the edge of the forest to celebrate how far this barren land has come (Picture credit - Rajnish Mishra)Ganpat Thakur, Ratiram Baba, and Makhan Lodhi are three of the seven most active villagers who ensure the safety of the forest, Dixit further told 101Reporters.“The locals go to check upon the forest twice a day. They create fences around new saplings and protect the trees from trespassers. Thakur has four dogs who warn us if any outsider tries to enter the forest without our knowledge,” he said. The forest pays backWhile the locals remained content to just witness it grow wild and dense, they observed that water shortage in the area was becoming less intense as the trees were growing taller. Within the 15 km radius around the forest, the groundwater has slowly recharged over these two decades. “Most villagers here are small-scale farmers. Earlier, they had to dig 200-250 feet deep borewells to get water for their crops and for daily use. All the wells and ponds would go dry and there were just one or two handpumps that still supplied water. But now, people find water just 15 to 20 feet below the earth, a maximum of 25 feet! This all happened in the last 20 years,” Mishra marvelled. A regular rain cycle has also developed in the area around the forest, making the region cooler and giving rise to small ponds nearby. “In the nearby areas and in the forest itself, there is regular rain. An old pond near the forest which had dried up earlier now stores plenty of water. It is all very beautiful and cool as opposed to the hot barren land that we used to see earlier,” he added.Even today, the forest continues to grow as new seeds take root in the fertile soil, said Mishra. “We see new shoots coming up as birds and animals scatter seeds of the trees. We have teak, babul, sheesham and many other varieties of trees here. They are all growing tall and strong.”Appreciating the efforts of the villagers, Deori range officer Raghvendra Singh Bhadoria said, “It is a commendable effort by the villagers. They have appointed a guard for the protection of the forest and are doing incredible work. They should be rewarded. We need more community effort like this to reverse the negative impact of human activities and restore nature’s balance.”Bhadoria has asked Mishra for land records to confirm if the forest falls under the forest department or is revenue land. “We cannot say for sure whether the forest belongs to the forest department without looking at the papers. If it is under forest area, we will do everything to protect the jungle like the villagers have done so far,” he said. The villagers have vowed to keep serving the forest selflessly and pass it on to posterity. They are also making their children aware of the importance of the woods in the hope that they too will take care of it for future generations.This article is a part of a 101Reporters' series on The Promise Of Commons. In this series, we will explore how judicious management of shared public resources can help the ecosystem as well as the communities inhabiting it.

Local pond helps residents of Shivpuri village in MP keep floods at bay

Villagers repair boundary walls of the village pond to prevent flooding during extreme precipitation caused by climate change and learn a crucial lesson in watershed conservation to alleviate drought conditions and control floods.Bhopal: Unseasonal and excessive rainfall wreaked havoc in Shivpuri district, Madhya Pradesh, leading to heavy flooding and waterlogging in many villages. However, in the same vicinity, Jakhnod village of Pohri block remained relatively safe and unscathed from the deluge of floodwaters. Locals said this was made possible because of community efforts to protect a local pond that served as a reservoir for rainwater, which initially helped the village mitigate drought during extreme summers.Impact of climate changeShivpuri, situated in the Chambal region, remains mostly rain-scarce. The recent excessive rains are a sign of climate change rapidly affecting the country's weather and rainfall patterns. Consequently, water levels in rivers like Sindh, Kuno, Parvati and Mahuar, passing through the district, have risen.This year, Shivpuri received around 55% of its total rainfall in a span of 38 hours. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the district received 454.57 mm of rain in less than two days, while the area's average rainfall is only 816 mm. Between June 1 to August 21, the district received 1065.4 mm rainfall, when the average precipitation for this period is only 553.5mm. This was 92% above normal levels, as per the IMD.Villagers said that it was the first time in their lives they had seen a flood in their hometown."Never ever have my parents or grandparents recalled seeing a flood in Shivpuri," said Rahul Yadav, a local farmer. "No one was prepared for such a situation as rainfall here is mostly low. It is usually a water distress area. I had never imagined this happening."Tiding through droughtA pond, locally called Bada Talab, spread in 100 bighas (a measure of land area varying locally from 1/3 to 1 acre), is an essential feature of Jakhnod's topography as it provides relief to around 1500 people during harsh summers and water scarcity all year round. Approximately 2,000 bighas of land are irrigated with the water from this pond every year."This pond is vital for the locals as it stores plenty of water during rains, which is then used year-round by us for farming, drinking and other needs. It is like the lifeline of the village. This time it has also been proven that the pond has protected us from devastating floods," said Yadav to 101Reporters.After repairing the cemented boundary of the pond, or Bada Talab, that had been damaged, locals in Jahknod create a failsafe boundary with sacks of sand (Picture credit - Ajay Yadav)Lokendra Thakkar, Officer In Charge, Government of Madhya Pradesh State Wetland Authority, Environmental Planning & Coordination Organisation (EPCO), said that wetlands are significant habitats for amphibians, fishes, plants, and aquatic birds. They also act as a carbon sink as they store carbon in the plants and soil, helping limit Green House Gases (GHGs) and regulate microclimate – small scale climatic conditions of a localised area such as inside a forest, a garden or, in this case, around a wetland.He said that impervious surfaces prevent water from infiltrating the soil and contribute to higher erosion rates, flash flows and increased sediment loads in nearby streams, resulting in floods. Wetlands are nature-based solutions that act as sponges, soaking up extra water and allowing it to infiltrate into the ground and slowly releasing the water into nearby streams, thereby preventing floods during storm events.Essentially, Bada Talab is the local wetland that has helped create a unique microclimate and ecosystem in Jakhnod and, in turn, also protected it from being inundated.Swift action saves livesAjay Yadav, a local social worker, saw that the pond's boundary was about to give way as the incessant rainfall had caused it to overflow."A few of us noticed that water had breached the boundaries and had entered into four nearby houses. The flow of water was quite strong as there was continuous rainfall for a few days, and there were cracks in the walls of the pond. The water level had crossed the highest level markings," said Yadav, recalling the incident to 101Reporters. "We immediately contacted the local administration, but they just came for supervision, and as we did not have much time, we decided to take matters into our own hands," he added.Mobilising the locals into taking immediate action, Yadav convinced them to put in efforts to repair the walls of the pond to prevent flooding."After one or two meetings, we decided to repair the pond walls with gunny sacks, plastic sacks and mud. Though it was temporary, we couldn't risk letting the pond break as it would have flooded 3-4 villages in the proximity. It is a large pond with tonnes of water," said Dinesh Yadav, a farmer and resident of Jakhnod.The villagers worked for five days straight to repair the walls and contain the damage. They succeeded in averting the floods while other villages were sinking knee-deep in water and their residents were being air-lifted to safety.Sustained efforts by community members to maintain their local pond has saved Shivpuri from devastating floods (Picture credit - Ajay Yadav)"Every year during rains, lots of soil gets eroded from fields and is deposited into the ponds. They need to be desilted so that they stay deep and can store more rainwater. But many villages do not pay much attention to the regular cleaning of the ponds, because of which they become shallow. Had the locals been more aware and cleaned the ponds, there would have been no floods in Shivpuri," said Ajay Yadav, who has been working to deepen the local ponds for many years with NGO Vikas Samvad Samiti.The municipal corporation does some basic work on the ponds in all the villages, like cleaning algae but are lax with other crucial activities like desilting the pond. Ajay and the NGO have motivated people to maintain the pond regularly and ensure encroachments don't occur. This effort has been missing in neighbouring villages. Efforts towards wetland conservationSpeaking of conservation efforts to protect these wetlands from vanishing, Thakkar said that the government of Madhya Pradesh is working on a few projects with the support of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)."All the Wetland conservation projects are essentially leading to climate change adaptation and mitigation. We have many ongoing and pipeline projects on wetland conservation. There are two projects through which we are looking into enhancing adaptive capacity to climate change through conservation of traditional water supply sources in Indore and Burhanpur cities of MP."He added that there are many projects for lake and wetland conservation currently underway in various districts of the state that the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) of the MoEFCC (60%) and the state government of MP (40%) are jointly funding. The Municipality and Public Health Engineering Department are currently undertaking one such project to conserve and manage lakes in Shivpuri. This article is a part of a 101Reporters' series on The Promise Of Commons. In this series, we will explore how judicious management of shared public resources can help the ecosystem as well as the communities inhabiting it.

Sarus crane population in Bhoj on the rise due to community effort

The collective efforts of farmers around Madhya Pradesh’s Bhoj wetlands have led to the reversal in the decline of the population of the endangered bird.Bhopal: When the Sarus crane’s population dwindled from 160 in 2001 to just 24 in 2008, it had ornithologists and conservationists worried. From 2013, they rallied together with the local population to save this majestic bird and their collective efforts have resulted in a substantial rise in the Sarus crane population in the region.The Bhoj wetland is an important Ramsar site (a wetland site of international importance designated under the Ramsar Convention) comprising the Upper and Lower lakes of Bhopal. It boasts a rich flora and fauna, and over 20,000 birds of various species visit annually. Among them is the Sarus crane, the tallest flying bird which can reach heights of upto 5 feet 11 inches. As per the World Wildlife Fund, there are around 15,000-20,000 Sarus cranes in India, the maximum being in Uttar Pradesh. They are also found in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat but their population is declining due to conflict with humans and threat to their natural habitats. The bird is classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The intervention to protect the Sarus Crane in the Bhoj wetland started in October 2012, when the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) found that the population of these birds had fallen rapidly in just a decade. Dr Samir Kumar Sinha, Head of Conservation at WTI, explained, “These birds are mostly found in shallow waters and rice fields where they can have access to small shoots and insects. They also prey on the fish in shallow waters. When we found that the birds’ population was decreasing at an alarming rate, we suspected that there was some conflict between the birds and locals, so the idea was to instil a sense of brotherhood between the two.”Friends of SarusFrom a single pair 10 years ago, the Sarus crane population has risen to more than 100 birds, and many chicks and eggs, in 2021, thanks to continuous community efforts.The local farmers have restored the bird population by keeping the birds’ eggs safe in their fields, preventing the hunting of birds and reducing the amount of chemical pesticides sprayed in the fields. Dr Sangeeta Rajgir, a Bhopal-based ornithologist said, “The locals of the Bhoj area did not harm the birds knowingly, but practices like excessive use of pesticides, overgrazing, pollution, started taking a toll on the crane population here.”Mohd. Khalique speaking to the farmers near the Bhoj wetlands about importance of Sarus conservation (Picture courtesy: Bhopal Birds)“Encouraging locals to protect the Sarus was the key element in the success of the Sarus Mitra (friends of Sarus) initiative that started in 2013-14. The discussion started at the local level and continued thereafter,” said Sinha.Today, children in the villages near the Bhoj Tal (Upper lake) have been sensitised to the needs of the birds and now they educate others about the same. They also keep a count of the eggs and try to protect them.“It is a great feeling to see the locals taking initiative to restore the Sarus population in villages like Nathu Berkheda, Bhisankhedi, Goregaon etc. The locals now not only protect the birds, they also tend to those that get injured and help them recover,” added ornithologist and founder of Bhopal Birds, Mohd. Khalique.Switching off the chemicalsOn learning that their practices were harming the birds, the farmers in Goregaon decided to start using organic fertilisers and pesticides, as opposed to chemical ones, as early as 2013. Farmers of Bhishenkhedi and Nathu Berkheda also decided to take the leap to organic farming by 2020.Abhishek Sigroley, 25, a local farmer in Nathu Berkheda said, “The people who educated us about the Saras crane said that the pesticides we use in the field get washed off in the local lakes and pollute the water, contaminating it for the Sarus. We also know that if something is killing pests on the crop, it is obviously poison. So we decided to use organic fertilisers like cow-dung and organic pesticides like neem oil for our crops from last year.”Dwarka Prasad, a farmer who switched to organic farming in 2013, added that it is also cost-effective. “We are now spending less money on buying pesticides, as the Sarus also eats a lot of insects in the water, allowing us to rest assured that grasshoppers, crickets and other insects will not destroy the crops,” he said.According to Rajgir, the scientists from the agriculture department educated the farmers about making organic fertilisers and pesticides. “As the raw materials were easily available at home, and the farmers also had access to cow-dung in large quantities, the change was easy for them. Though the use of chemical pesticides has not completely stopped, it has significantly reduced,” she saidSince the conservation efforts began a decade ago, the population of the Sarus crane in the area has risen ten-fold. The birds have also started nesting here and several chicks and sub-adults have also been found recently (Picture courtesy: Bhopal Birds)A safe haven for birdRajgir observed that due to the decade-long efforts, the cranes have started identifying the areas near the Bhoj wetlands as ‘safe’, leading to year-round breeding.“On the last bird count in May this year, we found eggs of the Sarus cranes, one-month-old chicks, and two-month-old sub-adults along with full-grown birds. This signifies that the birds have started breeding all year round, which is a good sign, as Sarus’ lay eggs in the same place year after year if they feel safe in that area,” she said.Along with making changes in their farming practices, the locals made groups called ‘Sarus-Mitra’ that continue to spread awareness about the Sarus crane among locals and request farmers to not disturb the birds if they spot a nest and eggs in their fields. The friends of Sarus also keep a watch over the new eggs and keep away dogs and other animals of prey. They also report the death of any bird to the local forest department and call the veterinarian if a bird is found to be injured.Taking inspiration from the farmers of these villages, farmers of nearby villages like Eintkhedi, Mugaliyachap and Bhilkheda have also started protecting the Sarus cranes.“We have started interactions with the farmers of the villages based along the streams where the Sarus cranes are found. The response has been positive so far,” added Rajgir.This article is a part of a 101Reporters' series on The Promise Of Commons. In this series, we will explore how judicious management of shared public resources can help the ecosystem as well as the communities inhabiting it.