Tindivanam

Background
GMR Group is developing the 72.9km stretch of Tindivanam - Ulunderpet road on NH - 45 in Tamil Nadu. The expected completion date of the project is April 2009. In keeping with the Foundation’s mandate to support disadvantaged communities in areas where the Group has business operations, it was decided to initiate community service programs in this project location too.

Villupuram is the central point and the main town in the Tindivanam - Ulundurpet stretch. From the beginning to the end point, there are about 24 villages situated in the immediate periphery of the road being constructed. These villages vary in size (broadly from 50 to 500 houses). Nonetheless, the socio - economic and political situation prevailing across these villages appears to be identical. All the houses are thatched and small in size. Separating one village from another, are sugar cane and paddy fields, sugar factories and rice mills. There are also sporadic patches of well constructed houses.

A majority of the villages have access to electricity (through a government initiative of providing one bulb per household) However, most of the village huts do not have sanitation facilities nor do they have access to public toilets. They depend on public taps for drinking water. Another health related challenge is that a number of unattended deliveries happen in the villages. Though there are health sub centers across the villages, they are not able to reach out to all the villagers proactively. The government schools located across the stretch of road are varied in size. There is also a definite scope to enhance the quality of education in these schools.

The villagers are daily laborers with a majority of them dependent on sugar cane fields and paddy cultivation for their source of livelihood. There are also brick production units in the area that employ a considerable number of children as laborers. One important trend is that during the off season, the villagers migrate in large numbers to Bangalore and nearby areas in search of jobs. This occasional migration causes a lot of instability in the lives of the villagers - especially the children. There is also a valid concern that villagers may become accident prone if they are not sensitized on road safety before the expanded stretches of the National Highway gets operational.

Initiatives
The Foundation has initiated activities from October 2007. A field office has been established in a village named Vikravandi where the road project toll plaza will be constructed. The Foundation strategy is to have a blend of intensive programs like school development, in five villages around the toll plaza, and general programs on road safety awareness in villages across the project area to name a few. A broad outline of the nature of programmes in these areas will be, initiatives related to school development, events pertaining to health awareness with special emphasis on HIV/AIDS and road safety awareness.

Education:
The Foundation has put in extensive efforts to establish rapport with the ICDS (integrated child development scheme) block office in Vikravandi. A master plan to strengthen the ICDS centers in Vikravandi is being prepared. It has also visited the SSA (Education for All) office in Villupuram to understand their programs and schemes and to seek support for the Foundation supported initiatives.

Community Services :
The Foundation has also been closely working with leading NGOs engaged in diverse causes in order to establish a strong relationship with them. Some of the NGOs are: South Arcot Multi Purpose Social Service Society (SAMSSS - an organization working for community development), CECO’DE (an organization working for Dalit rights) and Kalvi Kendra (an organization specialized on SHG programs for women). All these organization have been briefed about GMRVF and itsmission to develop CSW programs in the area. They have assured to extend their cooperation

Health and Hygiene:
The Foundation has visited the Primary Health Centre in one of the targeted villages and the upgraded primary health centre near Villupuram. The discussions held there have helped in understanding the local health situation and prevailing practices in detail. The Foundation has identified definite need for regular health camps and awareness programmes on specific issues like HIV/AIDS. These programs will start from December onwards.

Empowerment:
A series of meetings were held with the youth club members and the local self government representatives in the target villages. The good rapport established with these stakeholders would help the Foundation in its future activities substantially.