Governance

What is good governance? How well can a person or a community access help or push for a needed change? How often are they heard? Village Square shines a light on the people and schemes making the biggest impact or providing the most unique solutions.

‘We need to communicate what safe water means’

Several regions across India face acute shortage of safe drinking water. We speak to Amar Prakash, state programme director for WaterAid in Madhya Pradesh, about their interventions, challenges and success stories.

‘More awareness is needed about safe internet use’

“We need to involve parents in conversations about internet safety,” Unmesh Joshi, co-founder and COO of Responsible Netism, tells Village Square.

On Kolab reservoir’s perilous pathway, villagers await bridge

Despite being a 15-minute drive from Koraput town in Odisha, 138 villages remain isolated due to the absence of a road bridge over the Kolab reservoir. They currently use a two-foot-wide pathway attached to an old railway bridge.

her life

Tamil Nadu villagers take it upon themselves to build road

With no redressal of their decades-long request, Kottur Malai villagers pool money and labour to lay a six-kilometre mud road to their village.

her life

Jharkhand’s McCluskieganj struggles to stay alive

McCluskieganj, a charming hill town near Ranchi, faces an uncertain fate. It grapples with decaying colonial structures, a departed Anglo-Indian community, and environmental threats posed by illegal brick kilns.

her life

Jharkhand villagers waiting to see ‘light’

Residents of three hamlets in Jharkhand continue to live in darkness as electricity supply is yet to reach them. Lack of hospitals and schools in the vicinity adds to their woes.

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Former bonded labourers champion justice in Punjab

In the heartland of Punjab, people who once endured the shackles of debt and bondage now dedicate their lives to freeing others.

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Poor facilities plague Rajasthan’s anganwadis

With dilapidated buildings that often do not have basic facilities such as water and electricity, the anganwadis in Rajasthan are not able to fully ensure the development of children.

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Mokhada tribal villagers don’t fear the rains anymore

In the quaint tribal taluka of Mokhada nestled in the Sahyadri hills, the construction of a concrete bridge and a tar road marks the beginning of a new chapter.