Social sector in Rotary focus

Rotary International District 3290 announced today that its thrust areas for the next year, i.e., from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008, would be health, literacy, water and sanitation.

District 3290 comprises of 186 clubs spread across Kolkata, 11 revenue districts of West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Nepal.

The District will aim at various service projects covering thousands of rural families, and underprivileged families in the cities and suburban areas within the district.

"We have plans to adopt 100 schools in the area and provide them with infrastructural support on sanitation, books for libraries, health check-up camps and others. We believe that until the atmosphere in schools is not healthy and conducive to development, it is difficult to draw students, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas.", said Anirudh Roychowdhury, District Governor for RID 3290.

Rotary International also aims to extend support to the rural women in the region by promoting self help groups in association with the governmental agencies. "We are inspired by the Gramin Bank Model of Bangladesh, and plan to syndicate loans to small-scale business enterprises run by women under the Swalpa Rin Prakalpa of the WB government.", said Roychowdhury.

"We would join hands with NABARD to facilitate a micro-credit scheme for women.", he further informed.

Moreover,rain water harvesting plants will be put up in Sundarbans in south 24 parganas, Canning, Purulia, and Bankura, where the ground water levels have gone down considerably in the recent years, and salinity of the water has increased.

Around 400 sanitary latrines would be installed based on designs by the UNICEF; and 400 van-rickshaws to be distributed among unemployed youth.

All these initiatives come under 'Rotary's Village Vision' programme.

RID has plans to open a multi-specialty hospital at Purulia, with support from Rotary International on plant and machinery.

The investment on construction will be borne by the RID, and is estimated to be around Rs 2.5 crores.

It will be a 150 bed hospital, informed Roychowdhury.

"We already have a 100 bed eye hospital in Purulia," he added.