JAGATSINGHPUR: Money under the government’s flagship scheme Subhadra Yojana has been used by women for varied purposes. But in the sleepy village of Balia under Kujang block in Jagatsinghpur, 65 women have contributed their share of Subhadra money for a greater cause - breathing life into the fast dying Balia river.
The women, all members of Maa Bajrabudhi Primary Mahila Cooperative Society, founded in 2024, have restored a large patch of the river that was choked with silt and dense weeds. They had formed the cooperative society last year with the goal of economic empowerment and environmental rejuvenation.
Reviving 32 acre of Balia river bed at their village was their first major work. They removed pollutants, cleaned it and restored its natural environment within a period of 20 days. What came as a shot in the arm for the women was the Subhadra money of Rs 5,000.
Balia river, a distributary of Mahanadi that meets Jatadhari river mouth, had sustained the local population for generations through fishing, vegetable cultivation, and small-scale farming. Over the years, though, the riverbank was encroached by locals and the water choked. The women had time and again urged the local administration and elected representatives for reviving the waterbody but in vain.
“When the government announced the Subhadra Yojana, each of us had instantly decided to use the money and also some from our own savings for reviving the river. The idea was to generate income for ourselves and other villagers from the river water,” said president of the cooperative society Puspalata Jena.
The initiative was entirely self-financed. Collectively, they pooled Rs 7 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, both from Subhadra money and their own savings. While at a few places, machines were used to clear dense weeds, the majority of work was carried out manually. Armed with spades and unshakable resolve, the women removed thick layers of mud and weeds, developed the riverbed, and made the water usable again for the local community.
“This money from the Subhadra scheme gave us the courage to think about reviving the river on our own. Balia means a lot for our livelihood,” said secretary of the society Laxmipriya Choudhury adding, during the work, they also approached the block and district officials to include the work under MGNREGS but even that was not approved.
With the river stretch cleared, the women plan to use it for pisciculture. Fifteen of them have undergone scientific fish training. They have also started cultivating vegetables on the river embankment.
Inspector of cooperative societies in the directorate of Fisheries Dipanjali Sahoo said the society is eligible to receive Rs 2 lakh under the Reactivation of Fisheries Cooperative Societies scheme, a part of the Mukhyamantri Maschyajibi Kalyan Yojana and Rs 3 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana for the purpose. She informed that the women have already taken a 32 acre stretch of the river on lease for pisciculture.
