Area Scan - Konkani Pada

Location:	Konkani Pada, Near Tikujini Wadi, Ghodbandar Road, Thane
Dwellers:	Almost all of them are localites staying there for more than 25 years
Volunteers:	Ratna, Ashutosh
Date:	4/18/2010
Time:	10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
Approximate area of the locality:	less than 1 KM
Approximate population of the locality:	2000
Ruling entity:	TMC
Concerned Government Official:	Mr. Phadtare - Corporator - Shiv Sena
Source of water	Common tap
Time of water supply:	10:30 AM - 12 Noon
Frequency of water supply:	3 times a day
Anganwadi:	Yes
Balwadi:	No
Health Care Center:	No
Private Clinic	Yes
Public Toilets:	No
NO. for Ladies:	0
NO. for Gents:	0
Industries:	Farming
Employment Options:	Labour, Painters, Drivers, Farmers,
Child Labour:	Yes
NO. of Child Labours:	10 to 15
Type of work children seen doing:	Mostly girls go out for domestic Labour - household work
Possible reasons for school dropouts:	School is upto 7th std early marriages irregularity in water supply - girls/boys have to walk down the hill for more than 3-4 KM to get water girls are required to stay home for household work and for taking care of younger siblings
Problems observed:	The biggest problem here is, this falls under Forest area. Forest department wants the dwellers to move out. People are fighting against this under the leadership of local politicians. Other problems were early marriage, emergency medical care, transport etc
Known schemes/policies of government related to the issues observed:	Mid-Day meal, SSA, NREGA, The scheme under which every girl student is entitled to get 1 Rs for every attended day
Level of the awareness in the community about various government initiatives:	People were aware about Mid-Day meal and SSA. But not about NREGA and the scheme under which every girl student is entitled to get 1 Rs for every attended day.
Comments:	The municipal school is only upto 7th Std with single teacher for one standard who teaches all the subjects. School has 2 computers for 7th Std students. Teachers come all the way from Kopari - Thane (East). The principal - Dattatray Vithoba Mhatre stays at Airoli. There were cases where children were sent to the private Convent school from families financially sound. But in the contrary, some children need to work as a domestic labour outside the settlement who cannot attend school at all - though these cases were less in number (around 10-15). The good thing observed is since the school is in the settlement itself - families are not reluctent to send thier children to school. But the school is up to 7th std, so after completing the education there, they need to go till Majiwada Circle, which is almost 5-6 KM far, at another municipal school. Since the settlement is on the hill and away from the main road, public transport is hardly available. TMT buses frequency is very less. There are 2-3 bore-wells in the settlement but as that has hard-water, its not drinkable. So if municipal water is not sufficient-people have to go down the hill to fetch the water. No government/private clinic is available, people have to rush to the Majiwada Circle for any asssistance. A person who sees them in emergency and treats them with tablets/injections but doesnot hold any formal degree of medicine.