Education, livelihood opportunity in Uttarakhand's Purkal transform lives

Even on the sanitary front, things were dismal. Open defecation was the norm. Toilets were unheard of and garbage would be strewn anywhere it found a corner

The sarpanch of Uttarakhand’s Purkal village - Neetu Juyal - is 29 years old and the mother of two small children. As sarpanch, her responsibilities are wide-ranging. Any disaster relief operation, improvement in living conditions, water shortage, road or house collapse due to heavy rain, decisions on how to use funds provided by the state for betterment of lives fall into Juyal’s lap. She – along with her husband and a team of four others – govern and manage this village.

A task traditionally reserved for uneducated men usually over 60 years, Juyal, a Hindi medium graduate, is a bit