<p>Madappadi is a tiny village located within the dense forest of Sullia. Once known as an underprivileged village, Madappadi has made its mark, for good reasons, amidst some shortcomings.<br /><br /></p>.<p>When it comes to social harmony, political involvement and cultural representation, the village is a model for others. Inching towards swarajya, dream of Gandhiji, Madappadi has emerged as an architect of a silent revolution. <br /><br />It is cleanliness campaign by Mahatma Gandhi Grama Seva Prathisthana. <br />Social activist and agriculturist M D Vijay Kumar came up with a unique idea, which he shared with his like-minded friends in the village.<br /><br />Taluk Panchayat former vice president P C Jayaram accompanied Vijay in his mission. Also, several organisations supported him.<br /><br />After some meetings, they were able to form a team and the association formally came into existence on October 15, 2014, with M D Vijay Kumar, P C Jayaram, Chandrashekhar Guddemane, Gangaiah Poombadi, Vishwanath Golyadi, Sunil Madappadi, Shivappa Poombadi, Somshekhar Kevala, Prashant Poombadi, Rajkumar Poombadi and others.<br /><br />The members’ strength, which was seven initially, reached 11 in a short span of time. <br />Public welfare<br /><br />With the motto of public welfare, the 11-member team has been carrying out voluntary cleanliness campaign on each Saturday from 7 am to 8.30 am, at public places. Twenty-five such campaigns have been carried out so far. <br /><br />The team has also placed on priority, repair of link roads and providing connectivity to Madappadi village. The service includes clearing weeds to facilitate smooth traffic, cleaning the drains etc. <br /><br />Every member in the team is proud to be a part of the social welfare programme. They have formed their own discipline pattern and have designed a uniform for the team members.<br /><br />The cleanliness camps ensure compulsory participation of all members. Attendance will be given only to those who have done the work for full duration.<br /><br />The track record indicates that the members have recorded 90 per cent of attendance and have only skipped the programme due to unavoidable reasons like illness and being out of station. Log books and muster rolls are maintained for maintaining the list of works and attendance. The necessary equipment such as sickle, spade etc., will be brought by the members themselves. Minor expenses towards travel will also be borne by them.<br /><br />The important change that the team was able to bring about in the community was to create awareness on cleanliness among people of the village, said P C Jayaram.<br /><br />Active participation<br /><br />The most important factor is active participation of public. When people are enlightened upon the necessity of public welfare programmes, the very purpose is served, the team members said.<br /><br />M D Vijay Kumar, pioneer of the movement, said that the members were dogmatic on the success of the campaign, when they started it.<br /><br />They even doubted about the regular attendance then. But, every member was committed and attendance was full , except on a few occasions. Also, the team was punctual. In today’s situation, participation in public welfare programmes is the best thing one can do, he added.</p>
<p>Madappadi is a tiny village located within the dense forest of Sullia. Once known as an underprivileged village, Madappadi has made its mark, for good reasons, amidst some shortcomings.<br /><br /></p>.<p>When it comes to social harmony, political involvement and cultural representation, the village is a model for others. Inching towards swarajya, dream of Gandhiji, Madappadi has emerged as an architect of a silent revolution. <br /><br />It is cleanliness campaign by Mahatma Gandhi Grama Seva Prathisthana. <br />Social activist and agriculturist M D Vijay Kumar came up with a unique idea, which he shared with his like-minded friends in the village.<br /><br />Taluk Panchayat former vice president P C Jayaram accompanied Vijay in his mission. Also, several organisations supported him.<br /><br />After some meetings, they were able to form a team and the association formally came into existence on October 15, 2014, with M D Vijay Kumar, P C Jayaram, Chandrashekhar Guddemane, Gangaiah Poombadi, Vishwanath Golyadi, Sunil Madappadi, Shivappa Poombadi, Somshekhar Kevala, Prashant Poombadi, Rajkumar Poombadi and others.<br /><br />The members’ strength, which was seven initially, reached 11 in a short span of time. <br />Public welfare<br /><br />With the motto of public welfare, the 11-member team has been carrying out voluntary cleanliness campaign on each Saturday from 7 am to 8.30 am, at public places. Twenty-five such campaigns have been carried out so far. <br /><br />The team has also placed on priority, repair of link roads and providing connectivity to Madappadi village. The service includes clearing weeds to facilitate smooth traffic, cleaning the drains etc. <br /><br />Every member in the team is proud to be a part of the social welfare programme. They have formed their own discipline pattern and have designed a uniform for the team members.<br /><br />The cleanliness camps ensure compulsory participation of all members. Attendance will be given only to those who have done the work for full duration.<br /><br />The track record indicates that the members have recorded 90 per cent of attendance and have only skipped the programme due to unavoidable reasons like illness and being out of station. Log books and muster rolls are maintained for maintaining the list of works and attendance. The necessary equipment such as sickle, spade etc., will be brought by the members themselves. Minor expenses towards travel will also be borne by them.<br /><br />The important change that the team was able to bring about in the community was to create awareness on cleanliness among people of the village, said P C Jayaram.<br /><br />Active participation<br /><br />The most important factor is active participation of public. When people are enlightened upon the necessity of public welfare programmes, the very purpose is served, the team members said.<br /><br />M D Vijay Kumar, pioneer of the movement, said that the members were dogmatic on the success of the campaign, when they started it.<br /><br />They even doubted about the regular attendance then. But, every member was committed and attendance was full , except on a few occasions. Also, the team was punctual. In today’s situation, participation in public welfare programmes is the best thing one can do, he added.</p>
