IIM adopts village of neglect

IN KEEPING with their motto of being a management institution with a difference, IIM-Lucknow students started a unique ?chetna chaupal? programme at Chakkarpurwa village close to the campus.

chetna chaupal

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IN KEEPING with their motto of being a management institution with a difference, IIM-Lucknow students started a unique ‘chetna chaupal’ programme at Chakkarpurwa village close to the campus.

The village has been adopted by IIM and in the next five years IIM lads under the guidance of chairman, Students Affairs, Prof Dharmendra Sengar would undertake regular visits to the village.

“We did a survey of several villages before deciding to adopt Chakarpurwa. Situated next to our campus, the contrast was striking. Shorn of basic amenities like electricity, public health centre or employment opportunities, this village, is a classical model of neglect and we wish to make a difference to the lives of villagers here,” Prof Sengar told HT.

Akash Mishra, postgraduate programme II student and co-ordinator of IIM’s Social Welfare Committee, Bhavishya, said that IIM students would talk to government representatives about providing basic amenities in the village at the earliest. On Monday, Prof Sengar and IIM students interacted with villagers and identified their problems. They also selected six village children in the “honhar” (talented) category and decided that they would invest their time and effort in grooming these children into responsible adults who would be armed with all the knowledge to make an “informed choice” about their careers. Anoop Upadhyaya, another PGP II student involved in the programme said that every month they would hold a ‘chetna chaupal’ at the village. The programme is aimed at making the villagers aware about their rights, identifying their concerns and making an attempt to better their lives.

“Ideally, we would like one of the kids from these villages become capable enough of deserving a place in the IIMs. We would be doing an impact study of our programme in about five years’ time,” Prof Sengar added.