Hubballi, Karnataka :

There are hundreds of schemes and projects meant for the poor and underprivileged people. Yet many of the intended beneficiaries don’t reap the benefits of such government doles due to lack of awareness or initiative. A college student from Dharwad has been trying to change that and bridge the yawning gap between the poor and government.

Ravi Gosavi, 21, of Kotabagi village of Dharwad taluk, has been helping the underprivileged of his and surrounding villages avail of these schemes. His initiative has helped about 50 families in Dharwad taluk by providing them houses, toilets and employment training.

Ravi, who is pursuing his MA in journalism from Kuvempu University as an external student, says government schemes sometimes don’t reach who they are intended for and are often misused, with fake beneficiaries receiving the benefits.

“People in real need have no time and money to fight for government facilities as they are worried about their square meal for the day,” he observed.

Choosing his village Kotabagi and surrounding villages Kallur and Jiragiwad for his work, Ravi conducted a study on schemes of the government. He chose three schemes first, Indira Awas Yojana, MGNREGA and Rajiv Gandhi Chaitanya Yojane. Collecting required documents from eligible beneficiaries, he would submit them to the gram panchayat. He would then check their status regularly. His relentless pursuit finally paid off. Houses to 13 families and toilets to 7 families were provided under Indira Awas Yojana and MGNREGA respectively.

Emboldened, he took the initiative of bringing 30 unemployed youths for a 45-day training under Rajiv Gandhi Chaitanya Yojane. Among these, 11 are now waiting for subsidized loan for their self-employment projects like dairy, pottery and poultry.

Maheshwaragouda Patil, 30, a farmer from Kotabagi, said that he was unaware of schemes for self-employment. “Ravi convinced me to attend the training. Now I am starting dairy business and my loan application is under process at Mini Vidhana Soudha in Dharwad,” he said.

Paravva Hosamani, member of Durgadevi Mahila Madar Sangh, stated that thanks to Ravi’s efforts, 12 dalit women of her Sangh are geared up to start dairy business. “Ambedkar SC-ST Development Corporation has in principle accepted our applications and we are expecting a loan up to Rs 50,000 by next month,” she said.

As Ravi took the initiative under LEAD project of Deshpande Foundation, his project has been selected for YUVA Summit to be held on February 6, 2015 in Hubballi, where Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi and many successful entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs will be present.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hubballi / by Sangamesh Menasinakai, TNN / January 28th, 2015