Amid intense heat wave, Maharashtra’s Marathwada region reels under power shortage

High demand and use of electricity, a shortage of coal, and people’s inability to afford their high bills have left a large chunk of the state’s rural population without power supply since late March.Parbhani, Maharastra: March 20, 2022, was a hot summer day in Marathwada's Parbhani district. As the sun shone bright and the temperatures soared above 40°C, the fans here slowly rotated to a stop, and the lights blinkered off. The blistering day took a turn for the worse as the power supply to 221 villages in the district was disconnected allegedly because of unpaid electricity dues worth Rs.58.45 crore.Among the 221 villages were 66 from Jintur tehsil, with collective dues worth Rs 22.22 crore; 34 from Purna tehsil (Rs 15.19 crore); 25 from Gangakhed tehsil (Rs 1.32 crore); 20 from Parbhani tehsil (Rs 15.29 crore); and 21 from Pathri tehsil (Rs 6.12 crore), according to data shared by the state electricity board to 101Reporters.However, a number of villagers from Pathri claimed to have received inflated electricity bills during the lockdown. They approached the electricity board but to no avail. As a result, many refused to pay the exorbitant amounts, accumulating dues month after month.Ramchandra Mohite, a resident of Jintur, told 101Reporters that he usually received a monthly electricity bill of Rs 350. However, during the lockdown, his receipts read Rs 1,700, Rs 1,200, and Rs 900. His complaints fell on deaf ears. "Many villagers had the same experience. We are poor people. We don't have refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines in our homes that would consume this much power. Now, the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) is asking us to pay the pending amount with interest," he said, referring to the late fee imposed on them.Without alluding to any relief for the affected villagers, MSEDCL Joint Managing Director Mangesh Gondavale had said in March, "We have to recover at least 20 per cent of the current and pending electricity bills. So if anybody wants an uninterrupted electricity supply, they need to clear their dues."The power supply to 221 villages in the district was disconnected allegedly because of unpaid electricity dues worth Rs 58.45 crore.Inflated bills, continuing cuts Over the past two years, Maharashtra has frequently witnessed mass power cuts, especially in rural regions. In fact, higher-than-usual bills due to the increased use of electricity in homes during the lockdown became a political issue last year, with opposition leaders calling for relief. According to a report, in December 2021, the MSEDCL had disconnected the power supply to 1,254 Zilla Parishad schools across the Marathwada region for failing to clear outstanding dues.Moreover, at the peak of the second wave last year, 60 villages in Nashik's Trimbekeshwar tehsil had no electricity for eight to 10 days. So much so that villagers here were worried about a possible rise in animal-human conflict in the dark, since most of these villages were in hilly forest areas. Government offices weren’t spared from these power cuts either. Earlier this year, the electricity supply to six government offices in Pune was cut due to pending bills, causing even more problems among laymen who couldn’t efficiently avail of essential services.According to another report, the surge in demand for electricity due to higher temperatures this year led to a deficit of around 2,500 to 3,000 megawatts in power and Vidharbha, Marathwada and Khandesh will continue to face load shedding.The report further added that “efforts to get power from alternative sources are on a war footing. This includes availing 673 MW from the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited until June 25.” Also, on April 9, the Maharashtra Cabinet reportedly approved the purchase of 760 MW of power from Coastal Gujarat Power to address the power shortage across the state.Load-shedding continues due to coal shortageSoon after lights went out in these hundreds of villages in Marathwada and there was an uproar in the assembly, Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut announced that power will be restored to those farmers who hadn't paid their dues and there will be no disconnections for the next three months.He also announced the Agricultural Pump Power Connection Policy 2020 to make allowances for the recovery of arrears from users of agricultural pumps. Raut had said that “the policy enables agricultural consumers to clear the arrears in instalments, with rebates in the principal amount, interest and penalties until 2024”.After days of going without electricity, Parbhani was back on the grid in the first week of April after some of the villagers visited their local EB offices and paid a certain amount, committing to pay the rest in the near future.However, even while the power supply was restored on paper, most of the villages here continue to deal with 7 to 8 hours of load-shedding every day due to the coal crisis. Urban centres like Pune, Mumbai and neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai will not be affected, as these areas have lower power distribution losses and good recovery of bill payment, according to the distributor. Maharashtra is reeling under a major power crisis, with eight of its thermal plants left with less than a week’s stock of coal. At least three of Maharashtra’s 12 thermal power stations reported “supercritical” levels of coal stock. All of this as the summer heat bears down on the people of the state.Moreover, the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company (MahaGenco) has an installed capacity of 13,602 MW, of which 9,550 MW is dependent on coal. MahaGenco's stock of coal, too, isn’t encouraging, estimated to last between 0.90 and 7.21 days, an EB official told 101Reporters at the heels of the widespread disconnections in March. Tukaram Adhav, a resident of Babulgaon, managed to pay Rs 11,000 to the electricity board after borrowing money from his relatives. "My power supply was restored on April 5, but immediately after that, the board imposed compulsory load-shedding. If they don't want to provide power, why are they collecting money from us? I borrowed money from relatives unnecessarily," the 45-year-old told 101Reporters in frustration.Farmers, students left in the lurch In the ongoing harvest season, many villagers have found it challenging to carry out farming activities in the face of power cuts. For instance, one Appaso Thorat needs to run a pump to irrigate his farm.“As you know, diesel prices are skyrocketing, but we have to purchase it to save our crop. At the same time, we have to pay electricity bills. Can the government give us good rates for our farm produce?" he questioned.Another farmer, 42-year-old Raghunath Kurdane of Babulgaon, has 1.5 acres with Rs 12,200 due in electricity bills. He told 101Reporters that the MSEDCL had not given any warning before disconnecting the power supply to his house. "I’m a farmer who does not have the means to pay such dues. We requested time to settle the bills, but they refused and disconnected the power supply," Kurdane added.Since power cuts are a regular feature of rural life in this region, the farmers here have largely learned to cope without electricity. For instance, farmers who can't afford the diesel to run water pumps use “bullock mot” to draw water from the well. However, many are forced to leave their crops dry as they can't afford any means of irrigation.The power cuts are also a source of worry for students who’ve been preparing for their annual state board examinations. Arvind Chapke, a Class 10 student from Pathri, said they had to use kerosene lamps to study at night. His father had requested MSEDCL to restore their power for the sake of the students but in vain. Similarly, Shyam Kamble, a student preparing for the Class 12 board exams, uses the headlights of a two-wheeler with his classmates to study at night. Furthermore, in the advent of illnesses — exacerbated by the heat — many villagers were left without the resources to call an ambulance because their phones had run out of battery. And Gangubai Sonamate from Babulwadi pointed out how she had to prepare food for her family before sunset, or would have to cook in the light of a kerosene lamp.This isn’t unique to Maharashtra of course. Non-payment of dues and penalties in the form of load shedding in rural areas is a widespread problem. Shantanu Dixit, a founding member of Prayas (Energy Group) said that rural areas have higher technical and commercial losses and the issue of non-payment coming on top of that puts a lot of stress on the finances of distribution companies. He said that the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission had put in place a protocol more than a decade ago that takes into account these AT&C losses while planning load shedding. So more the losses, the more likely the power cuts due to load shedding. Edited by Devyani Nighoskar

After a decade of water scarcity, residents of Maharashtra's Surdi village take matters into their own hands

Tired of grappling with this perpetual crisis, they undertook a landmark water conservation endeavour to make their village water-abundant, drought-resistant and self-sufficient.Surdi, Maharashtra: Roughly 51 km from Solapur district in western Maharashtra, Surdi village has a modest population of 3,350. While most villages in this belt face a perennial water crisis, with harsh summers that leave water bodies dry, Surdi in Barshi tehsil is a unique lesson in watershed conservation.Keen on resolving their water woes, villagers, including women and children, spearheaded a community-driven watershed conservation project, covering 18,070 sqm, earning them the title “water tanker-mukt (free) village”.In fact, the central government even recognised their efforts: the Surdi Gram Panchayat won the third prize in the “Best Village Panchayat” category at the National Water Awards 2022 organised by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti. Spurred into action Since 2010, there seemed to be no end to the water crisis in Surdi, which only progressively worsened with each passing year. Every February, all water resources would dry up due to the depletion of groundwater levels. Moreover, according to the district data report, the village receives an annual average rainfall of only 601 mm.Villagers said most of the existing wells were bone dry, which had forced several residents to migrate out of Surdi permanently. Many of them had also tried to sell their agricultural land, albeit unsuccessfully, given that there were no takers amid the water scarcity. Eager to tackle the problem, some local youth, led by Madhukar Doiphode — a social worker and resident of Surdi — convened a meeting with the villagers to discuss the issue in detail and come up with practical solutions. They then decided to undertake community-driven watershed management projects to save the village from water shortages. Earlier, Doiphode was instrumental in motivating villagers to keep their land clean and green. He had participated in the Tantamukti Gao Abhiyan scheme, a state government initiative, and had also attended many workshops on water conservation. After one such workshop, he decided to resolve Surdi's water crisis at the village level, tackling the problem at the source.“We agreed that groundwater recharge through rainwater harvesting could help, but that alone would not resolve this water crisis,” he told 101Reporters. Without waiting for help from the district administration, the villagers, including women and children, came forward to construct a 600-m-long trench along Surdi’s village limits to allow rainwater to percolate within the settlement. Though it was mainly community funded, the gram panchayat had reached out to the state agricultural department, which then provided technical assistance for the project with the requisite government approvals. Through their combined effort, the villagers managed to revive their parched village pond with rainwater. “Initially, it was difficult to unite the villagers for water conservation efforts, but after consistent counselling, the residents were ready,” said Doiphode.Villagers spent around three hours a day fetching water for their daily needs on average, he estimated. This worked out to around 90 hours a month and 45 days a year. Instead, if each family contributed eight to 10 days of labour to dig the trench, a permanent solution to this problem could be devised. These calculations convinced the community to take up the watershed project.Together, the watershed management projects in the village can store up to 30 crore litres of water, surpassing the community's requirements (Picture credit - Madhukar Doiphode) Sulbha Balu Mohir was one such villager who was encouraged to participate in the community initiative. “It was difficult to carry 3 to 4 vessels of water at a time. So when we heard about this community work, we gladly participated without a second thought,” Mohir told 101Reporters.Uma Thopte, a 37-year-old resident of Surdi, earlier spent several hours a day fetching water for her family of six, often having to pull her son, a Class 6 student, from school to help in the peak summer months of March-April.“But after this conservation work, our well now has water and there’s no need to travel long for it anymore,” she said. Collaborative efforts equal lasting impactTogether, the villagers developed small basins and ponds on hilltops to conserve water. When their united efforts exceeded expectations, they went ahead with more challenging community projects. In the last year and a half, they took up a number of water conservation projects — rivulet deepening, a gabion watershed project, consecutive plane variables, deep construction contour trenches, deep drenches, inlet and outlet water tanks, farm ponds, check dams and stone check dams, among others.“This watershed management project can store up to 30 crore litres, which surpasses the village requirement,” Doiphode added. Elated with her ward, village sarpanch Sujata Doiphode told 101Reporters: “Scarcity of water was a major concern for the people of this region. However, with the collective participation of people, an impossible task was made possible. The situation changed so drastically that we’ve started cultivating cash crops [like sugarcane, grapes, leafy vegetables], and many of our villagers regularly export superior quality fruits and vegetables to Pune and Mumbai.” Tukaram Shinde, a farmer from Surdi, said: “Earlier, I used to cultivate only rain-fed crops like jowar and bajra. In 2016, I had decided to sell my 2.5-acre plot, considering the water crisis. Fortunately for me, there were no buyers at that time. However, after the watershed project, I now grow leafy vegetables and export them to markets in Pune and Mumbai.” Sujata also recalled how the village earlier depended on two hand pumps and wells each.“These water sources went dry every summer, and villagers — mostly women — had to trek 2 to 3 km to fetch water from a well in an agriculture field,” she added. Anuradha Magar, another resident of Surdi, told 101Reporters, “Even pregnant women would endure the gruelling trek of procuring water for daily chores.”It was unsurprising that more women participated in the community watershed project than men — according to the villagers, around 50 to 60% of the women in Surdi participated in the project. They knew the value of each drop as even pregnant women would bear the physical exertion and exhaustion of collecting water from distant locations. They didn't require much persuasion either, unlike the youngsters who joined in only after some counselling. Abinandan Shelke, a farmer from Surdi, said, “Earlier, many villagers destroyed their crops because they could not consistently purchase water from tankers. However, with water availability growing, the area under onion and grapes is likely to increase.”Instead of spending three hours a day (or 90 hours a month / 45 days a year), each family was convinced to contribute just eight to 10 days of labour to dig the trench (Picture credit - Madhukar Doiphode)Furthermore, as soon as villagers became self-sufficient in water conservation, the gram panchayat passed a new resolution that mandated the responsible and judicious use of water. It banned flood irrigation of farmlands in the village, and instead, directed residents to opt for drip irrigation. The efforts of the villagers didn’t go unnoticed by the district authorities, who commended them for their consolidated work.“The villagers of Surdi have displayed the strength of unity. They set an example of how any village can become self-sufficient in water management,” said District Collector Milind Shambharkar. “By taking inspiration from Surdi, I’m confident that water conservation and augmentation work will be undertaken in other villages in the district.”Edited by Grace JayanthiThis 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.

Thousands left in lurch after COVID-19 impact rattles Pune’s auto industry

Companies are yet to rehire employees who were fired this year to cut costs. And unlike last year, the drop in sales since the second wave is yet to pick up.Pune: Suyash Chaudhari, 36, a former employee of General Motors, was among around 5,000 employees who lost their jobs when the company shut its unit in Pune in June 2021. Finding no other source of income, he is now driving an Ola taxi for around 15 hours a day to manage the expenses of his three-member family and repay his home loan.The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the working class in Pune, famed as Maharashtra’s auto hub. Thousands of employees lost their jobs when companies here started tightening straps on their spending to sail through the crisis. Many of these former auto workers have taken up odd jobs as manual labourers, cab drivers and food delivery persons to survive the tide but a major chunk of them are still struggling to find a source of income to take care of their families.Chaudhari said that he lost his mother in the second wave of the pandemic. Even though he spent Rs 7.5 lakh — all his life’s savings — on his mother’s treatment, it could not save her life. "Despite desperate attempts, it was very difficult to find a new job after the lay-off in June. Hence, I decided to drive a cab to earn my bread and butter,” he said.According to a survey conducted by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), only 48 per cent of the companies in Pune (not just in the auto sector) admitted that their production had bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, whereas the remaining 42 per cent were hoping to reach those levels in the next six months.Mukund Shinde, a 26-year-old contract worker who was laid off by another automobile manufacturing unit at Chakan in Pune 10 months ago, said that he was yet to receive any call to rejoin work. The company had reduced its workforce with a promise to take them back once the situation became normal. Finding no other option for survival, he is now working as an agricultural labourer in his native village in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.Shinde told 101Reporters that the situations of contract workers laid off by his company were worse than those of the ones who were on its payroll. "I called the company many times, requesting them to allow me to resume work, but they kept telling me that they would convey my rejoining date soon.”Another worker fired by General Motors in June told 101Reporters on condition of anonymity that his wife of four months had sought divorce citing his inability to fund her “expensive lifestyle” without a new job. "She is leaving me because I have lost my job. I have no idea what to do. I feel that I am a loser," he said, adding: “I may recover from the financial crisis in the future, but how will I be able to repair the dent it caused on my family life?”As per the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health Department of the Government of Maharashtra, Pune district has approximately registered 3,250 auto companies which employ around 4 lakh people, many of them migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh.Chakan industrial estate (Picture credit - Naresh Natu)In the Chakan auto cluster alone, around 750 end-to-end automobile manufacturing units employ around 2.5 lakh persons. The auto cluster hosts production plants for the Volkswagen Group, Daimler-Benz, General Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Jaguar Land Rover and Bajaj Auto, General Electric and Hyundai among others. Dilip Batwal, secretary of the Federation of Chakan Industries, said, “The pandemic’s impact is still lingering. This is the reason behind the companies not being able to take back around 30 per cent of the employees that were laid off. Low demand, as well as a shortage of semiconductors, is the major reason behind the ongoing slowdown in the automobile sector.” And of late, the fear triggered by the emergence of the Omicron strain of coronavirus is worrying industrialists. Swapnil Dalane reckoned the pandemic has set him back by at least 4-5 years. Proprietor and Director of the 200-strong Dalane Industries Private Limited in Chakan, which supplies chassis to many auto manufacturing units here, Dalane said, ''In the pre-Covid situation, we were doing a good number of orders. That's why we had decided to expand. But the sudden Covid outbreak and lockdown restrictions have pushed back our plans. Demand is low. And now banks are asking us to repay previous dues without which they are not entertaining further loan requests.'' According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the production of automobiles across India – commercial and personal vehicles – slumped from 3,09,14,874 units in 2018–19 to 2,26,52,108 units in 2020–21. Domestic sales dipped from 2,62,66,179 units in 2018–19 to 1,86,15,588 units in 2020–21. A similar trend has also been witnessed in the automobile export sector – it came down from 46,29,049 units in 2018–19 to 41,28,928 units in 2020–21.MCCIA Director General Prashant Gilbane said, “The automobile industry was already witnessing a slowdown before the spread of COVId-19. The pandemic only exacerbated the slump. During Diwali in 2020, thanks to pent-up demands, there was a sign of significant recovery as automobile sales were inching up.  However, during the same festival season this year, the figures were very disappointing, with a 23 per cent dip in the sales of personal vehicles and a 17 per cent decline in the sales of two-wheelers.”He added, “The sales of personal vehicles were impacted mainly because of supply-side constraints posed by the shortage of semiconductors. The consumers’ confidence was also dampened by the lingering clouds of uncertainty created by the pandemic.”Even as the Union government and the finance department are busy preparing the budget for the 2022–2023 fiscal, the stakeholders of the automobile industry are expecting some big measures of relief. The Federation of Chakan Industries wants the government to extend support to small, local companies in the form of special grants and concessions for manufacturing semiconductors to overcome the shortage. In this vein, Batwal welcomed the Centre’s new 76,000-crore scheme to boost semiconductor manufacturing in India. “This is a much-needed relief to the auto industry and will help the industry in the long run,” he said. He added that China being the dominant exporter of semiconductors and considering our frequent border tensions with China, it is a need of an hour to be self-sufficient in semiconductors.However, he worried about this scheme too being held back stuck by red tape, like many other ambitious government policies. “The government should look into the implementation of this scheme at the ground level, supporting the small players and not just the Tatas and multinationals.”Batwal also touched upon a new government policy mandating that vehicles older than 15 years be scrapped. At present, these old vehicles are being recycled and sold to automobile manufacturers at a very high rate, which cascades into production cost inflation. The industry wants the government to make a provision in its policy to reserve a certain percentage of automotive scrap for the automobile industry at discounted rates. 

IPS officer tackles Solapur's illicit liquor trade, rehabilitates tribal brewers

SP Satpute conducted counselling sessions to advise brewers in rural Solapur to stop the illegal sale of liquor (Picture credit - D Shrinivas)In order to crack down on the generations-old illicit liquor manufacturing business in Maharashtra’s Solapur district, the IPS officer incharge is shifting the lives of those involved in the trade onto a different track. Solapur: A woman IPS officer in Maharashtra is attempting to do what the Britishers and the Indian police force could not.Tejaswi Satpute took on the decades-old illicit liquor trade in the state’s border district of Solapur, and in just four months, has managed to show results that promise the tribals involved in the trade safe and respectable alternative livelihoods. Solapur, adjoining Karnataka, has a 150-year legacy of trade in illicit liquor, which is supplied to communities along the border area. Pre-Independence, the British deployed their best officers to crack down on this racket but no one could stop it completely.The business, mainly carried out by the Banjara and Laman tribes, has been passed down from generation to generation, even as formal education and all other legal earning opportunities were largely ignored. The community, mired in poverty and illiteracy, simply knew no other way of life. When Satpute, a 2012-batch officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), was posted as Superintendent of Solapur, Rural Police, she took up the challenge. Since August this year, she has — through 'Operation Parivartan' — changed the destinies of 257 families, as reported by Solapur Rural Police Department, by weaning them away from the liquor trade.“Without providing an alternative source of income, only counselling would not have worked in this case,” observed Satpute, who planned her course of action by prioritising three things: frequent raids, adoption of a village by each officer, and rehabilitation cross-checks.Making the risks unviable For a long time, raids at liquor 'factories' in Solapur had not worked. A few days after each raid, the unit would be set up again and manufacturing would restart in full swing, safe in the knowledge that police officers won't visit again for at least a month.Satpute decided to conduct raids twice a week, thoroughly destroying all the raw materials and equipment they would find.Solapur rural police conducted regular raids on liquor producing units, using heavy machinery to destroy all the equipment (Picture credit - D Shrinivas)With the sale of liquor interrupted frequently and in the absence of earnings, the brewers found it impossible to get fresh material.Assistant Police Inspector (API) Ankush Mane, who is also deputed in the region and who 'adopted' Kamti village, explained: “Liquor producers incurred heavy financial losses because of frequent raids in which we destroyed everything. We also registered cases under non-bailable offences.” “We arrested many big operators in the illicit trade which indirectly built pressure on the smaller ones,” he added. These initial steps played a big role in the next phase of 'Operation Parivartan'.Opening up new, legal opportunitiesIn the next phase, officers identified around 586 families in 102 villages that had been directly involved in the liquor business for generations.Satpute distributed the 102 villages among 165 officers. The officers were responsible for stopping the illicit liquor trade in their adopted village, overseeing the raids conducted every Wednesday and Saturday.In the later phase, each officer was given the task of searching for an alternate source of income for affected families after considering their skillset. Satpute also found that more than 80 of these families had their own agricultural land but instead of cultivating it, they were utilising it to make liquor. With help from agriculture officers, Satpute organised 'farm schools' where technical know-how was given to such families and farm loans were provided as an initial investment.Where the tribal families did not have land, the police helped them in selecting a business or vocation depending on their skills, financial needs and the resources available in the area.In four months, around 257 families have been given alternate sources of income such as auto-rickshaws, kirana shops, bicycle repair shops, weaving machines, food stalls, milk and sweet shops.“We have not just given them good jobs, but our officers are even helping them set up their income source. Often, such new entrepreneurs face minor difficulties but my officers go beyond their duties to help them out,” Satpute said.One erstwhile liquor trader, Datta Bhoi, who had the means to produce 100 litres of liquor each day, has quit the work and with Mane’s help started a small kirana shop in Kamti village.“Because of frequent raids, I incurred heavy financial losses. I was frustrated but Mane saheb helped me raise money for my new business,” he said. Mane was key in visiting Datta’s relatives and requesting them to financially support him. The police officer assured them that Datta was ready to quit his illegal business and start a new one. He further requested the village mukhiya to help Datta, and promised everyone that Datta would return the money. He went so far as to contribute funds from his own pocket.“Now I am happily living my life with my family,” said Datta.(Above) Sudhakar Manjulkar and his family from Kumbhari village started a clothing shop and are earning a decent income; (Below) Datta Bhoi with API Mane in his new Kirana store (Picture credit - D Shrinivas) Similarly, Sudhakar Manjulkar, a resident of Kumbhari village, has started a small clothing shop. API Atul Bhosle helped him raise initial funds and rent a shop with help from the local bank and the village mukhiya.Konkan Gramin Bank provided him with a loan of Rs 50,000 to set up the store, in which the entire Manjulkar family is now involved and today they earn better than they did from the illegal liquor trade. Satpute pointed out that “most of such people were looking for a chance to leave illegal activities but they didn't have a way to move forward”. Future of 'Operation Parivartan'The new jobs are not easy for the rehabilitated families, as many admitted, but they are willing to push forward with a more respectable way of living.Every alternate day, the police visit them to encourage them in their new business and to ensure they are not going back to their old trade.One such rehabilitated person, Sathish Mule, who recently started a hotel, said: “We saw (liquor) as an easy money-making business but because of frequent police raids, we lost everything. It is now better to go with the police’s plan if we want to feed our family. We are also scared of being arrested.” Satpute informed that so far not a single one among the 257 rehabilitated families has gone back to the liquor trade and all are earning decently in their new jobs. According to her, 'Operation Parivartan' would be a long-term process. Her team is still at work, identifying more families looking to quit illegal activities. And she has another plan; Satpute has approached Maharashtra Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation (MITCON) to train 30 such people in tailoring skills for 30 days. MITCON has agreed to her proposal and plans to also hire the trainees on an initial salary of Rs 9,000 a month.