COMMUNICATION
Bhagwat Prasad, a leading social activist of Bundelkhand region, breathed his last on August 8. As director of a major voluntary organisation of this region, named Akhil Bharatiya Samaj Seva Sansthan (ABSSS), Bhagwat Prasad was closely associated with several welfare programmes relating to the welfare of Kol tribals and other weaker sections of this region. In particular he will be remembered for the important contribution he made in the execution of several successful water conservation and water harvesting projects. These brought considerable relief to the drought prone region experiencing frequent water scarcity. His organisation very recently received a prestigious award for its water conservation work. This work of the ABSSS was known and appreciated widely for achieving good and enduring results at a low cost.
At a time when land reforms are being widely neglected, Bhagwat Prasad and his colleagues received considerable success in land distribution work. This combined with his earlier work for rehabilitation of bonded workers brought new hope in many poor households, most of them Kol tribals or Dalits. When this in turn was followed up with water conservation work, many households that had never thought of growing adequate food to meet their needs, were able to harvest bountiful harvests.
In his last days Bhagwat Prasad was involved in improving rural school education. To sustain and continue his unfinished work other activists and organisations should surely lend a helping hand.
Bharat Dogra
C-27, Raksha Kunj,
Paschim Vihar,
Delhi—110063