Two sisters adopt Karnal village for development

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, September 3

Setting an example, two sisters have adopted Darar village to make it a model one by uplifting the standard of education, hygiene, health, environment, cleanliness and encouraging people not to indulge in female foeticide. Besides, they will motivate drop-out students to continue their study. Some of their friends will also dedicate their time in this noble cause.

Sanjoli (19), a student of Bachelors of International Security Studies at the Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, along with her sister Ananya (15), a Class X student, have decided to do something for rural people and adopted the village. Their mother, Gagan Banerjee, running an NGO, Sarthi, working for women empowerment, will also support them in eradicating anemia among women with the help of Health Department and private doctors.

Keenly interested in socio-economic reforms in India, climate change and India’s foreign policy, Sanjoli says, “My main aim is to empower the young population as they are the future of India. Only educated and aware youth can become socially responsible and productive.”

Rising dropout rate among girls, stubble burning, increase in the number of anaemic women in the society and lack of toilets in rural areas would be her areas of focus, she adds.

Ananya, wants to be a civil servant, says, “India is an agrarian state and working at the grassroots level would strengthen the country. We need smart villages for holistic development. We will raise funds for the uplift of the village through public participation and also from our pockets.”

Both sisters reiterate, “We will make it a model village in less than two years. Roads are in a deplorable condition, the government school requires modern equipment and farmers need scientific knowledge. We will urge scientists to conduct seminars in the village to educate the farming community.”

In the presence of Surat Singh, sarpanch, Veena, principal of the Government Senior Secondary School, residents and volunteers of the Sarthi, they adopted the village and planted saplings.

The sarpanch assured both the sisters of all kinds of support and said, “It is a good sign that the girls are coming from urban area with the agenda of development in rural belt.”