<p>The village—just a short distance away from India’s cooperatives capital Anand—has clean roads, constant power supply and good schools, all brought upon by unrelenting efforts of the local people and the focused work by the administration. People in the village say the transformation did not take place overnight. <br /><br />“There has been a tremendous change and its not through any government intervention, but only through the initiatives of village folks,’’ said Vijay Patel, 30, a Thamna resident. While money came from wealthy NRIs, the Panchayat has spent it judiciously, ensuring each penny of it was spent on developmental activities such as building the infrastructure and basic amenities. <br /><br />The village, as a result, boasts of several facilities such as a reverse osmosis (RO) plant and a biogas plant that keeps the streetlights here burning all through the night. Besides fulfilling the energy requirements, the plants—managed and run by a trust in the village and began as a pilot project—also ensure that the power comes from cleaner sources. <br /><br />“With the success of this plant we now intend to create a 1 MW bio power plant which will benefit houses in 30 adjoining villages,’’ said Chandrakant Patel, the village sarpanch. Besides setting up Thamna Health and Education Trust, Patel has also opened an English medium school that gives free uniform, books and stationery for students. <br /><br />“We just charge a token fee from the 500-odd students who come to study here. We want to impart the best facilities to them,’’ said Patel. The efforts meant that the village has been chosen as the best in the state with the Centre announcing a Rs 10 lakh award. The money is yet to reach the Panchayat here, but people barely complain. <br /><br />The 4,200 families in 1,200 households in the village are engaged in farming activities growing crops like wheat, paddy and banana. “Our village was ravaged by waterborne diseases due to the poor quality of drinking water. Now, we get pure water at home,” said Vibhabari Patel.<br /><br />The village, which has also worked to develop its wasteland, selects its Sarpanch through a process called Samras. This, villagers said, have helped them stopped animosities amongst people. <br /></p>
<p>The village—just a short distance away from India’s cooperatives capital Anand—has clean roads, constant power supply and good schools, all brought upon by unrelenting efforts of the local people and the focused work by the administration. People in the village say the transformation did not take place overnight. <br /><br />“There has been a tremendous change and its not through any government intervention, but only through the initiatives of village folks,’’ said Vijay Patel, 30, a Thamna resident. While money came from wealthy NRIs, the Panchayat has spent it judiciously, ensuring each penny of it was spent on developmental activities such as building the infrastructure and basic amenities. <br /><br />The village, as a result, boasts of several facilities such as a reverse osmosis (RO) plant and a biogas plant that keeps the streetlights here burning all through the night. Besides fulfilling the energy requirements, the plants—managed and run by a trust in the village and began as a pilot project—also ensure that the power comes from cleaner sources. <br /><br />“With the success of this plant we now intend to create a 1 MW bio power plant which will benefit houses in 30 adjoining villages,’’ said Chandrakant Patel, the village sarpanch. Besides setting up Thamna Health and Education Trust, Patel has also opened an English medium school that gives free uniform, books and stationery for students. <br /><br />“We just charge a token fee from the 500-odd students who come to study here. We want to impart the best facilities to them,’’ said Patel. The efforts meant that the village has been chosen as the best in the state with the Centre announcing a Rs 10 lakh award. The money is yet to reach the Panchayat here, but people barely complain. <br /><br />The 4,200 families in 1,200 households in the village are engaged in farming activities growing crops like wheat, paddy and banana. “Our village was ravaged by waterborne diseases due to the poor quality of drinking water. Now, we get pure water at home,” said Vibhabari Patel.<br /><br />The village, which has also worked to develop its wasteland, selects its Sarpanch through a process called Samras. This, villagers said, have helped them stopped animosities amongst people. <br /></p>
