Maharashtra village on a daily mobile detox

A siren is blown from Bhairavnath Temple in Mohityache Vadgaon village in Maharashtra at 7 pm every day. From 7 pm to 8.30 pm, it's time for a "digital detox" for the villagers.

No one watches television, uses smartphones or any other digital device during that time.

Mohityache Vadgaon is located in Kadegaon tehsil of Sangli district in Maharashtra.

“Its a unique initiative. We have campaigned hard for it and finally we succeeded when people cooperated,” Mohityache Vadgaon’s Sarpanch Vijay Mohite told DH over phone.

The initiative was launched on August 15, 2022 coinciding with 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.

“We we look back, 2020 and 2021 have been difficult years because of the Covid-19 pandemic," said Mohate. "The pandemic triggered the lockdown and online education started in a big way. While TV and mobile were the only source of entertainment, it was smartphones which were being used for education. That was a necessity,” he said.

However, it had its repercussions, he said.

“Young kids got addicted to mobile phones. While classes were for a few hours, the rest of the day, the kids were glued to their mobile phones,” he said, adding that there were no physical activities on the part of students.

This was a matter of concern and hence a discussion was initiated to address the issue. “I spoke to a few people about digital detox but people were not convinced. But I kept trying and people came with me. We also spoke to the ladies and they too were convinced that we need to do something,” he said.

Mohite pointed out that he also went to different schools and spoke to kids.

The village has 3,520 people and around 750 houses. “We have 530 students from Class I to Class X. And the college-goers are around 300,” he said, pointing out that after detailed deliberations they finally decided to implement the 'detox' from the 75th year of Independence.

“To start with, we installed a siren at the Bhairavnath Temple of the village. The siren goes off at 7 pm daily,” he said, adding that for implementation, there are groups of volunteers who undertake surprise checks in the locality.

“In fact, students too are happy now. The parents are happy. The family can sit together and talk to each other. Those who want to study, can study,” he said.