The Chronicles Of Forest Villages

The Chronicles Of Forest Villages

‘THE CHRONICLES OF FOREST VILLAGES’ is a documentation of a trip to the forest villages of North-Bengal in March - April, 2007. We traveled around 25 forest villages. Our aim was to explore the remote villages, speak to the villagers and the officers in charge. This Pre-policy documentation is an effort to help the concerned department to implement the multifaceted plan in that region.

We selected several forest villages of 5 forest-divisions under the Forest Department. The selection of the villages was made on the basis of remoteness and availability of facilities. We tried to document the act of living of those villages where the basic amenities of life are missing.

Forest villages of North Bengal are the home base of various tribes. The candid images of this documentation replicate real state of these villages which are surrounded by the forests and away from the residential areas. The facts we gathered would help us to understand the hurdles of being an inhabitant of a forest village of North Bengal.

We have divided the documentation in four segments. Each part deals with the issues like Education, Health, Employment, and Infrastructure separately. These four episodes are a precise presentation of our one month long exploration.

Education:

What is the state of the education in the remote forest villages? How is the literacy rate? Do the children go to school? What are the problems they face? Do they get mid day meal and other government facilities? As they complete the primary education they have to walk 7 to8 kms to reach high school…how many of them struggle through the distance to continue education? What is the rate of drop outs? What do the parents feel?This part has tried to find out answer of these questions from the students, parents, school staffs, government officers.

Health:

In most of the cases, it takes more than 2 hours to reach a primary health center. Villagers have to rent car and venture through the hilly route. Otherwise patient are carried on stretcher made of bamboo. There are so many villages where health officials can reach only two times in a year. Then what the people do? Do the babies get polio drops in time? How do the people fighting against Malaria? Are they aware of AIDS? What the officials have to say? What the people have to say? Our camera has captured everything.

Employment:

Most of the villagers depend on forest as the income source...they have admitted that they have to steal wood from the forest. But this is not an easy task as now the forests are reserved...so they are unemployed for a long time. The plan of 100 days work is still a dream for the villagers. They cannot even depend upon crop. Elephants grab those. Most villagers are migrating...

Our camera has captured this plight.

Infrastructure:

This part tries to look in to the state of the roads, drinking water, habitat...

How is the development work progressing? Whether the FDA fund has been utilized properly? We found that Adma of Buxa forest division is the remotest forest villages. We had to leave our car behind to for 5 hours to reach the village. Dukpa tribe lives here...What is the state of their living?

Once the forest department established these remote villages but are they looking after their needs...Villagers have right to vote but they don’t have the basic amenities of life.

Produced by

Roopkala kendro

Programme Design

Kallol Lahiri

Direction

Roumya Roy

Kallol Lahiri

Cinematography

Amit Majumder

Edit

Rudra Dasgupta