Flag hoisted in 4 tribal hamlets in north Maharashtra for the first time since Independence

The foundation, which has been implementing education interventions in the region for three years, decided that the national flag should be hoisted in the hamlets of Udadya, Khaparmaal, Sadri and Manjnipada on Independence Day this year.

Over 250 children enrolled in the four schools run by the foundation were present at the flag hoisting ceremonies on Friday, besides local villagers.

There is no government school or a gram panchayat office in these hamlets, hence, a flag-hoisting never took place in the last seven decades.

The idea was not only to achieve a `first', but also to educate the local people about their democratic rights, said Deore.

“The tribals here live a very independent life, but all of them may not know things like the rights guaranteed by our Constitution,” he said.

They often get fleeced or exploited while working as labourers or in day-to day transactions, Deore pointed out.

Many settlements including Sadri do not have any road connectivity.

Bhuvaansingh Pavra, a resident of Sadri, said people have to either walk for several hours, or depend on a boat which plies in the Narmada to visit other villages in the area.

The school of YUNG Foundation runs from his land. The lack of education is the biggest problem and the next generation should not suffer from it, he said.

Electricity grid has not reached any of the hamlets, and a majority of households depend on solar panels.

Locals here speak the Pawari dialect, quite different from standard Marathi or Hindi, which makes it difficult for an outsider to communicate with them. Deore said it was difficult initially to win the trust of the people, but once they were convinced about the genuineness of the cause, it was easy to secure their cooperation.

The foundation depends on donations to pay its teachers and procure basic infrastructure for its schools. But it can not implement a mid-day meal scheme, like in government schools, as these are informal schools.

The anganwadi workers appointed by the government often stay away from these remote hamlets. There are, however, exceptions like Aajmibai, an anganwadi worker at Khaparmaal, who stays in the village allotted to her and does her job diligently.