Author: Kamal Kumar

Bengaluru city, the Silicon Valley of India, has many badges to wear in —garden city, city of lakes, unicorn capital and its metro service popularly known as Namma Metro. Notwithstanding, such ebullience has not been extended to the lives of marginalised communities like the Hakki Pikkis community, living near the outskirts of the city. The Hakki Pikki community in Bhadrapura has long faced marginalization and a lack of basic facilities, including public transport services.

The Hakki Pikkis, a semi-nomadic tribe in Karnataka known for their traditional bird-catching and hunting practices, are one of the state’s major tribal communities. The lives of the community, comprising 403 households and a total population of 1,532, has been severely affected due to the absence of transportation, particularly for the children going to secondary and higher-level education. Many community members rely on small-scale businesses selling spices, flowers, Ayurvedic formulations, and herbal oils.

Without public transport, they often stay away for extended periods, making daily commutes unfeasible. Additionally, the lack of bus services has hampered access to health services, with the nearest Primary Health Centre (PHC) and schools being 6 km away. Consequently, many women undergo home deliveries.

“We all depend on public transport for our small-scale businesses, as we need to carry our goods with us. Public transport has been a long-pending demand because we were marginalized from these services. We need to travel 5 km to the state highway to access public transport, and it’s not possible to walk daily carrying our items. Therefore, we stay away for three to four days to finish all our business before returning,” says Divya, a Daksha Samuha (CBO facilitated by Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) member from the Hakki Pikki community in Bhadrapura.

Despite the Karnataka government’s initiative to provide free bus access to women across the state, Hakki Pikki community women remained excluded from the services. Their repeated appeals to the local BMTC bus depot manager went unheeded until Daksha Samuha and CFAR intervened.

“We have gone to meet the manager many times to demand bus services, but they don’t even let us into the office and treat us very poorly. This has affected us in many ways and has severely impacted our children’s education,” Divya further added.

Recognizing the critical nature of the issue, Divya and Gauthami from Bhadrapura, members of Daksha Samuha, mobilized few community members and engaged with higher BMTC officials, including the Chief Traffic Manager, with support from the CFAR team. They presented a detailed letter with community signatures, which led to an immediate resumption of bus services during school hours. However, this was short-lived, as the election code of conduct caused a temporary halt in services, resulting in some students missing their exams.

In May, CFAR’s Kengeri cluster team facilitated another meeting with community representatives and the Kengeri BMTC depot manager. Highlighting the severe impact on business, youth and women, the community’s plea was heard, resulting in the reintroduction of one bus with two trips daily, aligned with the community’s schedule. BMTC officials have assured that services will be expanded based on response.

Reacting to the community demand, Chendrakala, Kengeri BMTC bus depot manager, said, “We operated a few buses a few months back, but the response was very poor, so the service was cancelled. Now, after listening to the community, we learned that most people go out of town for business and stay away for three days because they cannot return to Bhadrapura due to the lack of bus services. We are now aware of this and will operate the service regularly and increase the frequency in the future.”

Thanks to our collective resolve and never-say-die spirit and efforts and CFAR team’s support, the Hakki Pikki community now enjoys improved access to education and healthcare, marking a significant step towards their empowerment. This enhanced access is not only a victory for the Hakki Pikki community but also a testament to the power of advocacy and community action in driving meaningful change.

Launch of Campaign by Dy Mayor: 14 Nov

The banner “Salute the Champions in the Community and WASH system that shaped Inclusive and Climate- Resilient Sanitation, Bhubaneswar” – captured the significance of the event held on Nov 14 at Cluster 6, Ward no 22, Bhubaneswar.

Launching the campaign for the World Toilet Day that falls on Nov 19, Manjulata Kanhara, Deputy Mayor, urged those who do not have access to household toilets to “get in touch with the Sanitary Inspector and apply for the same.” She appreciated the community outreach by Transgender SHGs that are engaged in sanitation work.

The event became a forum for diverse stakeholders in the WASH system to share their experiences and views. Noting that the event coincided with Children’s Day, Khulana Sethi, AWW Supervisor urged families to make children conscious of the use of toilets. Gagan, SDA member, stated that there is a growing involvement of women who promote toilets within their home and community. Rahas Bihari Saha, Sanitary Inspector reinforced the message “Stop Open Defecation”. He also spoke of the importance of waste segregation. Meghna Sahoo, Third Gender Welfare Trust (TWT) talked about the long-standing need for Transgender Toilet, stating that she has raised this issue with the Deputy Mayor.

“Be the Change you want to see in the World”, the inspirational words of Mahatma Gandhi were prominent at the rally that was then carried out to spread the message of inclusive and climate-resilient WASH.

“Those who do not have access to household toilets can get in touch with the Sanitary Inspector to apply for the same. SHG members are proactively reaching out to the community to empty the pits on time. This message should be shared with all others who are not present here in the meeting”, encouraging words by Manjulata Kanhara, Deputy Mayor, Bhubaneshwar in Cluster 6, Ward no 22 as she launched the campaign ahead of the World Toilet Day that falls on 19 November.

The launch saw wide participation – Partners, Ward Officials, Slum Development Association, Swaccha Sathi, Jal Sathi, representatives of sanitary workers and frontline workers. A number of voices raised important issues that intersect with safe toilets. Sudarshan Chottoray Climate Change Expert urged people to use toilets designed for climate related risks. Meghna Sahoo, TWT raised the need for community toilets for transgenders. Periodic de-sludging of pits and tanks with all safety provisions – was stressed upon. And a simple appeal by Rahas Bihari Saha, Sanitary Inspector to stop polluting the environment – Stop Open Defecation.

Visitors at Hall No 4, Pragati Maidan at the opening of the India International Trade Fair, Delhi watched with interest a performance based on disease-spreading mosquitoes and the ways of prevention and treatment. “Machar se Bachein, Rogon se Bachein’ performed under the aegis of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme. had actors enacting scenes that showed patients struggling with different diseases — filariasis, malaria, dengue, chikangunia, Japanese fever and kala-azar. Each segment ended with an effective message by the medical doctor in the show on protection from mosquitoes. ‘Bittu Mosquito’- the charming Mascot flitted around – spreading the same message. Speaking randomly to people in the audience showed that the message had gone down well.