Women sarpanches happy to have a say

SHIMLA: As special gram sabha meetings were held in the state including 363 panchayats in Shimla district on Sunday, first time elected women presidents of panchayats called it an interesting and exciting experience. We got talking to some first time women presidents of panchayats in the district regarding their experience.
Nirmala Sharma of Thana Panchayat, in Jubbal said, "Conducting the first gram Sabha was quite an exhilarating experience.The interface in the gram sabha is a big leap forward for women living in rural areas. It gives us an opportunity to conduct the affairs of our Panchayat and come out from the confines of our homes." Shanta Maunta from the Mandhol Panchayat said, "Earlier we had seen gram sabhas being conducted in the village as spectators but being on the other side of the fence and taking responsibility this time has given us a chance to learn new things. Though it was the first step, but we had a good gathering of nearly 200 persons from five wards of the panchayat besides many mahila mandals to support us."
Sharda Dhaulta, president of Dhar Panchayat, said, "It was an interesting experience to interact with people at the grassroot level in our Panchayat and know about different problems of people. This gave us practical knowledge to know what kind of development was needed in the village."
Dhaulta, who was a teacher earlier said, "Women today are literate and economically independent and this has given them an opportunity to make decisions for their villages and to decide what is needed for the upliftment of different sections in our villages."
"With discussions about the development work undertaken by the earlier representatives we planned for our new priorities which focused on development of roads in our village, besides focusing on making the village polythene free," said Kamlesh of Ranvi Panchayat in Jubbal. She said that they also talked about creating facilities in the villages for toilets.
"We had a gathering of nearly 250 and above and women from different wards proved to be a good support," she smiled.
Neena Verma of Bhonth Panchayat in Shimla said, "The opportunity to conduct the first gram Sabha has instilled confidence in me. It gave us a chance to interact with officials from various departments and discuss different issues. This has widened our horizons also and expanded our knowledge. It's like acquiring practical knowledge. Though we are in a stage of infancy, but with experience we will be able to progress and also highlight issues, especially related to women."