A new service in the basket, Umri Panchyat, Madhya Pradesh
West Champaran district of Bihar state was carved out of Champaran district in 1984. The geography of the area is such that Goverdhana range, a mountain chain forms the Indo-Nepalese border. Many rivulets have a source in this range, leading to tributaries of river Gandak. These rivulets, in fact, make the land fertile, rich in vegetation and ensure high ground water level all year round, making the district a high population density district, and Bettiah an urban centre within the chaotic distict..
The story is no different in Chavani Chowk, a major cross road at Bettiah where roads from Lauriya, Narkatiyaganj and Mainatand meet. Additionally, there is a railway crossing nearby, which leads to major traffic snarls and a tough duty for the person manning the railway gate.
In February 2016, on account of an upcoming visit of a European delegate to West Champaran district, a team of Soochna Sevaks boarded in the Soochna Vahan were carrying out a supervision drive across all the Soochna Seva Kendras. The team was waiting between two railway lines when a man dashed towards our van to make some quick enquires.
“I have been seeing this van for the last couple of days, and was curious to know and discuss my problem with you,” the man said, after making it clear that he knew Soochna Seva works on RTI as well.
As the Soochna Seva team was already running late, they exchanged numbers with the man and suggested to discuss the problem at length later. Later, when the team followed up with the man, they learnt that he, Subhash, was one of the gatemen at the Chavani Chowk level crossing. Though he was supposed to work for eight hours a day, he was being forced to work for 12 hours a day and there were no regular weekly offs for him either. Subhash wanted to know if he could raise a complaint against his superiors by filing a Right to Information (RTI) application.
Unfortunately, due to lack of procedural knowledge, people often come to such conclusions that RTI is the final answer to all their problems.
So the team explained to Subhash the role of RTI and the process of filing a plea under it. Subhash was then also made to understand the terms and conditions of his service, and in what ways he can use to RTI to prepare a strong case for his service agreement.
This happened a few months ago. Last month, one of the Soochna Sevaks suddenly remembered about Subhash and decided to pay him a visit. Upon meeting him, he learnt that Subhash had acted very smartly after their interaction. He first approached his departmental head and the Railway Mazdoor Union; and through these channels he made sure that he got his entitlements. Coincidentally, his hard work paid off on Mazdoor Diwas (Labour Day – May 1). Now, he works eight hours a day, and gets regular weekly offs.
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