Ground Tales

Shocking! Look who is behind the death due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in Bihar

The outbreak of acute Encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Bihar this year, which claimed lives of more than 180 children, portrays the bad healthcare and infrastructure of Bihar government. A few months after the outbreak, a group of journalists and social workers came up with a survey, showing the real cause behind this outbreak. The survey released on November 13 at Muzaffarpur says that 96.5 percent of children who were affected from the Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) belonged to underprivileged section and scheduled castes and tribes. The survey revealed that 97.8 percent of family of children affected from AES could not earn more than Rs. 10,000 a month. The mainstream media had criticized government hospitals for allegedly not providing proper health care, but the survey revealed that 92 per cent affected family appreciated the job of doctors and hospital staff. Pushya Mitra, a senior journalist and one of the prominent persons behind this survey tells us more about the findings of survey. Please Subscribe and share this podcast.

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Ground Tales: A tale of malnutrition-free village

Madhya Pradesh is ranked amongst few of the worst states of India in terms of nutrition and infant mortality rate. But there are some great initiatives taking place in small villages to overcome these issues that are worth sharing. Kotagunjapur, a village inside Panna Tiger Reserve has conquered malnutrition with kitchen gardens. The village that does not have access to roads and electricity has now attained freedom from malnutrition, something that even bigger villages and cities have been unable to achieve. Villagers realized that they are extremely poor and cannot afford dear vegetables from the market because of which their kids and women were not getting proper nutrition, leading to increase in malnutrition. Some social workers helped them develope kitchen-gardens in every household where they could grow iron and vitamin-rich vegetables and herbs. In a period of four years, the condition improved drastically. The villagers started getting fresh vegetables every day and that showed a positive impact on their health. The story about zero malnutrition villages is still untold. Ground Tales spoke to the social workers and the residents of Kotagunjapur to know more about the model and the struggle to make the initiative popular amongst villagers. We also interacted with activists behind this initiative who played a pivotal role in popularising the kitchen- garden concept to tackle the problem of malnutrition with a zero-budget plan. Listen to our podcast at http://www.groundtales.com

Picture Tales #2: Abandoned farming instruments haunt the fields of villages as youth shifts to new professions

With every passing season, farmers are facing huge losses in farming. Due to the risk involved in farming sector, new generation is not interest in this field. This phenomena can be understood by these pictures where the new generation did not opt for farming as a profession. The fields and houses of villages near city are filled with abandoned farming instruments and the memories associated with them. Ground Tales brings some photographs with the series Picture Tales to show the emotional connection between farmers and abandoned instruments.

Picture Tales #1: See the disastrous effects of backwater of Sardar Sarovar Dam in villages of Madhya Pradesh

Thousands of people have been evacuated from catchment areas of Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) in Barwani and Dhar districts in Madhya Pradesh as the Narmada river is flowing above the danger mark following heavy rains. Despite the protests of villagers the Gujarat government is not opening the gates of Sardar Sarovar Dam and with every passing minute the water level is increasing.

Folk Trail Episode #3: This indigenous tribe’s cuisine works like medicine

Baiga, an indigenous tribe of India, hardly take medicines for common ailments as their day to day food itself has more healing properties than modern medicines, without the side effects. They eat a number of green leafy vegetables available in the jungles, but unknown to the urban folks. The herbs, coarse grains and local vegetables provide complete nutrition to the body and heal the ill in no time. Dayaram Rathodiya, a Baiga, spoke to Ground Tales and revealed the age-old secrets. Please like, subscribe and share our podcast.